Mass Effect: Winter Eyes
by xenowriter
Summary: Post Trilogy. It's been 5 years since the destruction of the Reapers, Macha Shepard is dead. Following her death, her crew disbands. A new faction alarms Liara T'Soni and she calls upon the help of Garrus Vakarian. What is Charon? What's their connection to Cerberus? With the recent deaths of those with connection to Shepard, is the new group deadlier than their previous human cent
1. Chapter 1

MASS EFFECT: WINTER EYES

CHAPTER 1

2191 CE: FUMI DISTRICT, OMEGA

A thin smile spread across Garrus' lips as he heard the door to his apartment slide open. His back was facing the door, but he already caught a glimpse of his visitor down below as he watched them from his window. "I'm impressed." He lightly tossed out to his guest, not bothering to turn away from the window to address them.

The door closed behind them. "Oh?" Liara T'Soni crossed her arms with a smirk.

Garrus turned around to see his old teammate and felt a slight pause in his response. Her appearance changed since he last saw her at the end of the Reaper War. She still appeared to be the same age. Her youthful appearance lingering. That was a positive trait for the Asari. They could live to be past a thousand so five years was nothing on them. Instead of donning her usual attire, she had on a metallic blackish red slim fitting vanguard uniform. She was almost dressed like a merc rather than an ex member of Shepard's crew. "Nice getup." He teased.

"Have to blend in." Liara glanced around his apartment with her deep ocean blue eyes. "Nice décor." The apartment was the exact opposite. A few pieces of furniture, no wall paintings and all the lights were off or dim. It almost looked like the place was vacant. Even a low-class citizen of Omega would have the place looking better than it did.

"How did you find me?" Garrus questioned, his voice tinted darkly. His tension seemed to indicate to T'Soni that he didn't want to be found.

Liara kept the warm smile on her face. "Remember who you are talking to. Though, my sources pegged you on Palaven at first. Your sister told me about your father's passing a few months ago. Garrus…" She paused sadly, remembering the death of her own mother on Noveria. "I'm so sorry…I-I know that he meant a lot to you."

"Never thought age would take him so soon." Garrus' mandible twitched. "I hope my work to take down the Reapers made up for my failure as a C-Sec officer."

"There's no doubt in my mind that it did."

"My father was a turian of short words." The turian admitted as he finally turned to move towards the makeshift kitchen. "You want anything to drink?"

"No." Liara watched him worriedly. He was guarded. Solitude was not healthy, especially for him. Shepard told her about how he acted after learning about Sidonis' betrayal and how determined he was to bring his ex-friend to justice along with Fade. His coldness and brutality almost scared the commander. Macha Shepard was so fierce. It was hard to imagine anything to scare her. "How are you holding up?"

"With what?" Garrus stopped and looked back at her.

"Garrus…" Her soothing voice reached out to him. "I miss Shepard. I still can't believe she's gone..." She admitted sadly, feeling hot tears come to her eyes. With the years progressing by, she didn't think she would break down to her old friend's death, but here she was. She came to Omega to find Garrus to get his help, but instead, she felt herself confiding in him.

"Yeah…like a bad dream, huh?" He choked up, reminiscing in his thoughts. He could still clearly see her beautiful smiling face before him at the eve of battle in London. Her sparkling green eyes looking with him deep love and worry. The strands of her red hair gently lapping at the mid of her neck. He wanted to run his talons through the soft strands once more. He yearned to feel the warmth of her breath on his leathery skin. Instead, there was just the coldness of the Omega streets and the looks of the unfortunate and thieves.

Macha Shepard's body was never recovered from the rubble after the fallout. The presumption was that it was disintegrated from the catalysts' charge. A memorial was held on the Normandy months later and a larger one was held for her on Earth on the year anniversary celebrating her achievements and the late Admiral Anderson. "You still trading secrets?" Garrus inquired, casually shifting the conversation from his pained loss to something more current.

Liara scoffed at his question. "You mean am I still the Shadow Broker? Yes, and the data is pouring in. Without Glyph, I couldn't keep up."

"You know the Broker had associates to help him." Vakarian pointed out.

"I wouldn't know who to trust. There's so much viable information. One slip and you may find another Broker in my place." Her voice grew dark. Her sudden demeanor change caught Garrus off-guard. Macha told Garrus at one point after helping T'Soni take down the Yahg and freeing Feron that she didn't like the idea of Liara gaining all that knowledge. Information was power, and power corrupts. Liara was already a distant individual and her paranoia seemed to have blossom since Shepard's death. Then again, solitude confinement seemed to be the best alternative for all of them. None of the other teammates had stayed connected. At least that he knew of. After Shepard was killed, they all seemed to go their own way. Would it take a suicide mission to bring them back together? That was the good old days. Her eyes moved back over to him. "What you brought back here? Planning to bring back Archangel?"

"Why not?" He chuckled. A ruse, but deep down inside, he privately hoped that if he could stir some trouble on the asteroid space station, that Macha would come out of hiding to take him away. He thought she was dead before and she busted through the mercs to take his side. Fire burned within her eyes as she blasted the charging krogan Blood Pack Leader, Garm, away. She was ruthless and the way she handled herself that day on Omega was very captivating. Since that day, he could never look at her the same as he did when he first found her on the Citadel. He wanted more with her. He wanted to be with her. However, the idea of being with a human, being with her, scared him. The idea was not foreign to his species, but it was unfamiliar territory to him. How could a female human make him so weak in his knees?

Liara's face faltered. "I really hope that you're joking." Seriousness took over.

"I am. Relax." Garrus held up his hand. He reached into his fridge and pulled out a dextro beer. "I don't think you came all this way to check up on me, did you?"

"No." Liara retrieved a datapad from her pack that was hoisted on her back by the shoulder harnesses. "Have you heard of the group, 'Charon'"?

Garrus took another swig from the bottle in his hand, mulled over the name, but nothing was coming to his mind. He shook his head. "Let me guess. New merc group?"

"If only it was that simple." Liara moved closer to him to share the information that was displayed on the pad. "A year ago, sensitive information was extracted from databases owned by weapon research centers for Elkoss Combine and the Alliance. The intruder even identified themselves with the group."

"Vain, aren't we?"

"Tell me about it."

"What kind of information?"

"Classified."

"You mean the great Shadow Broker can't figure it out?" Garrus chided.

"I'm still working on it." She gave him a side glance away from the pad. "There wasn't a lot of talk about what exactly was stolen. I'm hoping if I learn more about this group, then I can nail down their motive the contents of that data."

"Hackers looking to make a quick cred?"

"That's what I thought, but then the last two months, things took a very different twist…" Her forefinger scrolled the information over to a different page. She paused to allow him to read it for himself.

Garrus' blue avian eyes widened as he read over the news article. Another read, and it was still incomprehensible! Admiral Kirrahe was assassinated on Surkesh. He took a swallow. His mouth became dry. "How…did they?" The news was very disturbing. He worked along with the famed salarian STG member on Virmire. Ironically, while he was in the Special Tasks Group, he knew Mordin Solus, another member of Shepard's team when they went up against the Collectors. Mordin Solus gave his life to cure the genophage that plagued the krogan.

"They are very good. Reports state that the assassin somehow hijacked a Salarian merchant ship that was heading to Surkesh on a scheduled run. They were expecting it, so they let him through the defense grid."

"He must have had the pilot going in at gunpoint." Garrus bitterly spat. "Poor bastard didn't know what was coming."

"My assumption as well." Liara swiped again to a video clip. "Surveillance footage captured this image at the docks minutes before the time of Kirrahe' s death." The image showed a male with blonde hair with a distinctive tattoo on his neck. He was dressed in dark military attire and moved quickly. Liara froze the image on him. "You see that tattoo? I scanned it into my database and had Glyph run cross checks." The image looked like an upward pointing crescent moon with a cross below that ended in a sharp point. In the middle of the moon was a dot. "That's an image in the human culture for Hades. In Greek mythology, it is under the underworld."

"Their hell?" Garrus lifted an eye ridge as he listened in attentively.

"Some belief…yes. Charon in Greek mythology was a ferryman that took souls over to Hades."

"Sounds like human centric judging by that and our assassin friend."

"It gets worse." Liara added. "Cerberus is also found in their Greek mythology. It went back to the hellhound of Hades.

"That's…colorful." He studied the image further. "You think this is a splinter cell of Cerberus?"

"Hard to say. Most operatives were killed in the Alliance raids following the war and others committed suicide." Liara's face twisted with horror. "I can't believe they were that far gone with what the Illusive Man told them."

"Ideology is scary. He always warned Shepard that even if she found a way to kill him, that Cerberus would live on."

"I don't even know if this is truly in fact Cerberus resurrected. Could be just a rogue group. That's what makes it scarier."

Garrus swiped back to the article on their old friend. "Tell me more about Kirrahe' s death. Any details in the investigation?" His old C-Sec skills were coming back to him. Homicides were always difficult to work.

"When the goods were not delivered to the designated area, employees were sent down to the docks an hour after the ship's arrival for a status. The ship was gone, and the merchant's body was found stuffed in a crate. A single gunshot wound to his head, a fatal blow."

"What about Kirrahe?"

"His body was discovered inside his apartment the next morning when he failed to show for a meeting. They said…" She stopped herself as the next few details were gruesome in nature and that even sharing them made her gag. "They said that his head was nearly severed…"

Garrus looked away with his eyes tightly shut as the vivid grotesque image hit his mind. "Damnit...," he huffed in his breath. "He didn't deserve to be brutally murdered like this. Was in he some sort of trouble?"

"No…I checked that out first. As suspected, his record was clean." Liara took the pad away to move on to the next piece of intel that she wanted to show him. "There was another murder a few weeks after that…"

"Who?" Garrus looked her way incredulously.

"Ilium. The body of Rana Thanoptis was found in her apartment by her bond mate."

"How come that name sounds familiar?"

"She was the same Asari that we came across on Virmire. She was hired by Saren for the studies of indoctrination."

"That's right!" Garrus remembered hearing about their run in with the scientist during the mission debrief. Macha took Liara and Ashley with her. That's when Ashley was lost. Saren came and Shepard was tasked with the difficult choice on who to save. Ashley, who was guarding the nuke to take out the krogan breeding facility or Kaidan who was pinned along with Kirrahe. The nuke was secure and there was no way that the Geth could have diffused it in time. Kaidan was the logical choice. Ironically, if she didn't choose that path, then Kirrahe would have fell on Virmire as well. Instead, he and his team were spared. "We ran across her again when we went to find Grunt. She always found herself at the wrong place at the wrong time."

"You can say that again." Liara frowned. "Eight bullet holes riddled her body. There was no way she could receive medical attention in time even if she was found before she died.

"Eight?" Garrus shook his head. "That's kind of extreme. Had to be a silencer tip to avoid alerting anyone. They must have really hated her."

"A volus merchant near the shopping square claimed to the police that he noticed a peculiar woman near the apartment complex of Rana prior to her brutal death. His description identified her to be of the same group with the same distinctive tattoo on her neck. He never talked to her since she didn't seem interested in buying anything from him."

Garrus sighed from this news. "Always wanting to make a quick cred instead. Greedy bastards. He should have reported her right away and we could have nailed him."

"Her." Liara corrected.

"What?"

"The assassin was a woman this time, remember?" Liara took the pad away. "I tried to review their files to pick up a pattern and there's only thing that pops up."

"What?"

"They both had a connection to Shepard."

"But Shepard ran into them first before her work with Cerberus. Why target them?"

"That's what puzzles me. It doesn't add up. Garrus, I need your help."

Without hesitation, Garrus nodded his head, "I'm in."

"Suggestions?"

Garrus set down his beer and took a glance out the window at the dark Omega skyline. "First, I would get out of here." He cracked a smile back at the Asari.

Liara returned the smile. "I would agree."

"Then we go to Ilium and track down that witness. I need to get more details."

"My ship is ready."

Suddenly, a chime from the apartment's door interrupting their conversation and the two fell quiet. Each given the other a look of worry and confusion. Liara held her finger to her lips to signal to him to remain quiet and do not answer. She reached for her pistol that she had taken with her upon her arrival. Only a fool would take one step on the asteroid station unarmed.

"I know you are in there." A female voice sternly called from the other side. Garrus' and Liara's eyes became wide as they instantly recognized who it was. Liara winced. Somehow, she had slipped up. "It's Aria T' Loak." The voice spoke again. "Either you can let me in or we can blast our way in."

"Spirits, she's not alone." Garrus whispered over to his friend.

"You think she would be?" Liara tossed back. She moved towards the door to greet their visitor but didn't holster pistol. Most times, she could use her biotics to get out of tough situations, but Aria was a biotic as well. A matriarch at that, with skills way beyond hers. She opened the door to reveal Aria standing there with a look of pure displeasure on her face. Accompanying her were two large krogan and two batarians. All heavily armed. Aria was not carrying anything. She didn't need to. Her forces clearly outnumbered Garrus and Liara and there was no way out of the apartment except out the window. They were eight stories up. A flaw on Garrus' part. They were trapped. "Aria." Liara quietly acknowledged the woman; hoping not to draw any more attention to them.

Aria's blue eyes moved from her over to Garrus. The irked expression never changed. "I hope this wasn't a private conversation." She cooed menacingly. "State your business here."


	2. Chapter 2

MASS EFFECT: WINTER EYES

CHAPTER 2: NEXT TARGET

"Speak up. Aria asked you a question." The pale yellow toned Krogan rumbled beside T'Loak. His assault rifle directly aimed at the pair. Skin tone could give away a krogan's age. Older krogan had darker tones while younger ones had more brightness to it. His left eye was missing, and the flesh had grown in some where it had been sutured shut. Thick scars were covering his face. He had seen some hardcore battles in his younger days. His accomplice was a younger breed, no scars and kept his reptilian mouth shut.

"Technically, Brek," Aria interjected pointedly. "I made a demand." She then flashed her cold blue eyes over to him. "I can handle this." A firm reminder not to cross her. Aria T' Loak always wanted to appear that she had everything in control and could handle herself against any foe. If she let her bodyguards do her talking for, it was a sign of weakness. Brek's lip rolled up slightly to reveal his deadly sharp incisors before he thundered back with a giant step. Seeing their interaction, Liara figured that this krogan was new on Aria's payroll and didn't want to play by the rules just yet. She kept this information in her pocket. She never ceased to let opportunities slip out of her fingers. If they had trouble getting out of Aria's clutches, perhaps, Brek could be their ticket off the station. Once satisfied that she had the floor, Aria approached Liara and Garrus with a look of distrust on her purple facial appearance. "It bothers me when members of Shepard's team arrive on my station. My men noticed you, Liara T'Soni, when you departed from your ship." Liara didn't show a spec of worry on her face. Somehow, she knew she failed in her deception of her appearance. "Better luck next time." Aria cooed.

"It's been five years since the war, Aria." Liara argued calmly.

"Yet, you are still hiding from me." T'Loak countered. Point her. "Whenever Shepard and her crew were on my station, it was trouble."

"Despite that, you begged her for help to take this place back from Cerberus." Garrus fought through gritted teeth; his fists clenched at his sides. He remembered the hell that Macha endured on her own when she agreed to go solo with Aria to take back Omega. Garrus never slept until her safe return. To him, Aria wasn't worth risking her life. Omega wasn't worth it. Shepard saw the need for Aria's forces and she was determined to get back Earth at any cost.

Aria's eyes narrowed dangerously to almost slits from his comment. "I do not beg," She hissed. "I traded my support for her noble efforts in exchange for helping me retake this place from Cerberus." A pause. "I don't know how you got through the net, Garrus Vakarian, but I assure you that it won't happen again." She glanced over to the two batarians that accompanied her. Her eyes drilling into them, looking for silent answers on how the turian came to be on Omega without her notice. "Just how long have you been here?"

"Hours," Garrus lied quickly.

"Don't push me." Aria glared hard at him. She wasn't playing. "You both would come this way to meet up behind closed doors?"

"We were just leaving." Liara spoke up.

"Your ship is impounded, and it will be released upon my discretion." A thin smile spread across her light purple lips. "Let's just say. I do not trust you."

"This doesn't concern Omega!" Liara didn't like the notion that they were now prisoners of Aria. Just how long would she keep them there? This was holding them up!

Aria could detect the tension rising. "If it doesn't, then why come here? Please. I wasn't born a century ago."

"I came here and Liara found me." Garrus found his voice once again, stepping into the center of the room, becoming the direct subject of the conversation.

"Garrus- "Liara gasped, raising her arm to stop him, but he moved away quickly.

"I... had to get away. I came here because-," He stopped himself short as if he now regretted the choice he was about to make.

Aria was not amused. "I'm listening. Don't drag this out. I hate long winded stories. It's almost as bad as an elcor trying to sell me something."

"There are murders connected to Shepard," Liara butted in, trying to redirect the conversation. She wasn't about to let Garrus confess to his days as Archangel. Not when there could be active bounties still on his head. The years may have progressed, but the mercs impacted did not forget the turmoil he put them in. They had no choice now, but to get Aria's assistance. Even if it wasn't purposely, Liara could rely on her intel as well.

"What murders?" Aria grabbed onto the bait.

Garrus knew they were losing valuable time and if they divulged everything to her here and now, then she may decide to keep them there. They had to get moving and the docks were on the same way as the club. He had to move their party along. "We can't discuss here. We may be followed."

"By who?" Aria wasn't buying it.

Liara looked over at Garrus and tried to read his eyes the best that she could. She didn't know what trick he had up his sleeve, but she had to play along to make this believable. "We are not sure who is behind them yet," She lied. "If you traced me here, then they probably have as well. We need to get out of here."

"She's right, boss." A batarian spoke up. "No way out of here. We have more weapons at the club."

Aria sneered at him, then shot her eyes back at Garrus and Liara. She crossed her arms and pondered on what to do. "Abenk, you lead the way. The _back_ way," She emphasized the latter. Her eyes never left the turian and the asari in front of her. "You are coming along too. Brek?"

"Yeah?" The older krogan barked.

"If they try to escape, shoot them," She commanded flatly.

"Understood. Get moving." He moved towards their prisoners and ushered them along with the barrel of his gun.

Aria stopped them. "Hand your weapons over to Abenk. Don't think I trust you that much."

The walk towards the club took longer due to the twisted routes that Abenk was leading them on. Some of the streets Garrus was unfamiliar with, but he tried to keep a mental note of the layout and picked up on familiarities. He always tried to remain one step ahead. Despite the zig zags, he calculated that they were still going in the westerly direction and the route to the docks would be coming up. Aria had the ship impounded, but perhaps, if they fought their way through, there was a chance! Being unharmed was a problem. He hoped to catch one of the guards there off-guard and seize their gun. Liara could muster with her biotics until they got down to the docks. Once they were there, they could manage to surprise the forces holding the ship and make a break for it. They had to time everything perfectly. He caught Liara's weary gaze upon him. She nodded her head slightly, not to cause any suspicious movement. She was onboard with whatever his plan was. They didn't have time to discuss everything with Aria. If Charon determined they had loose ends, then they would target the volus witness on Ilium to silence him forever. He already may be dead. Suddenly, a blur caught his attention and he glanced up in its direction. They were passing several apartment complexes and it almost seemed like someone was looking down at them as they passed up. The window, two stories up, was vacant now. Were his eyes deceptive to him? He looked ahead to see that Aria gained some distance between them.

A sickly looking salarian approached the group from the left. "Aria, I lost my daughter during the plague years ago." He weakly coughed. "They fired me from the refinery last week. I need work." The amphibious looking alien reached out to the prestigious asari, hoping to catch her for a moment. Abenk caught notice of his attempt and moved to usher him away.

"Get lost!" Abenk snared. He barely got his words out before the entire right cavity of his head exploded with blood and brain matter splattering everywhere. Blotches of blood fell on the salarian and Aria who were the closest to the victim. Screaming in terror, the salarian fell to his knees and crawled away to seek refuge.

The headshot was precise and clean. A professional hit. "Sniper!" Garrus alerted the team and he grabbed Liara by the wrist, jerking her to the right to take cover behind trash bins. He should have seen this coming! That moment that grabbed his attention was no trick.

The remaining batarian moved to protect Aria and glanced frantically around for their attacker. The burly Krogan remained exposed, relying heavily on their thick hides and redundant nervous systems for protection. Their large bodies made it impossible to take cover like the others. Aria didn't like the idea that her prisoners were alone. She took notice of their location. "Stay with them!" She bellowed.

A whizz and another round ricocheted off the ground near where Aria was at and the batarian. Another struck the batarian's arm that barely was uncovered. He groaned and jerked to get out of the way. Garrus looked to see the pair of krogan moving in their direction and the shooter ducking back down in the same window that he noticed before. Their action was almost seamless, and he noted that their clothing was all in black, which made it difficult to see them at first. The rounds were only going to Aria's direction. Becoming quicker almost in an act of desperation. Was she the intended sniper's target?

Eyeing the fallen batarian's weapon still out in the open, Garrus made a dash for it. "Garrus!" Liara called out to him. She worriedly watched him and then back at the window.

Scooping up the rifle, Garrus caught the brief look on Aria's face and then rolled back to his original position. Checking the magazine, he was satisfied to know that he still had half a clip. "At least the poor bastard was ready," His mandible twitched at his friend as he glanced around his surroundings.

"Brek!" Aria called out to the krogan that was near them. "Watch them." The idea of one of them being armed didn't settle well with her; even if they were hiding for their lives right now. Technically, as a biotic, Liara was still deadly, but Aria outranked her with her skills.

"What are you going to do?" Liara looked on at Garrus.

"We can't charge in there. The bastard may have the whole place wired." He thought out loud as he analyzed their situation. He had to think like this guy. It felt odd being the other person on the end of the scope.

"Surprised he hasn't made a break for it."

"He knows he's trapped or he's that hard up to get his target." Garrus contemplated their foe. "Either way, he's going to get desperate."

"Well, if he is, then he's doing an excellent job of hiding it. He is not coming out." Liara noticed that things were becoming calm, but any fool would believe the coast was clear.

"Can't let Aria do anything stupid." Garrus thumbed back to the Omega leader's direction. "She'll send her goons in. He wants his target."

"You really think Aria is going to stand there and let him shoot?" Liara cocked her eye ridge at the direction he was going with it.

"Only one way to find out." Garrus looked up at the window again and then back at their captor. "Aria! Stand up!"

"Are you fucking crazy?!" She shot back, keeping her head down. "You want me dead!"

"He wants his target! You're it!" Garrus shouted back.

"How convincing…" Liara teased him.

Garrus noticed Aria looking his direction but kept his guard up. He noticed their foe was still hiding. He pointed to his own rifle with his talon and then to the window. Sternly, Aria gritted her teeth and stood up from where she was. "You want to screw around up there? I'm right here," She called to their unknown assassin.

There was silence and it seemed as if Garrus' plan would falter. He crouched down and waited, keeping his finger on the trigger and staying out of sight with T'Soni next to him. His heart rapidly moving in anticipation, his hand stayed steady despite the pressure. If he was wrong or missed, then another life may be taken. He could hear Liara's quick breathing as she vigilantly waited for the signal. "Come on…," Vakarian huffed through his mouth.

Aria was playing her part. She stood there casually, arms crossed, as if her life truly was not in danger. The sniper sprung up from his hiding spot by the window, holding his rifle at the ready. As if everything was going in slow motion by the sheer adrenaline, Garrus glanced Liara's way. "Now!"

Gathering dark energy, Liara released a biotic sphere towards the humanoid figure, striking him directly with an unsuspected singularity attack. The dark energy lifted the man off the ground, rendering him helpless as his feet dangle beneath him. He struggled to regain his sights. Shooting haphazardly in Aria's general direction, striking the crates near her, but nowhere near her or her men. Garrus raised his own rifle and took aim. The distance was longer than most shots would be precise with an assault rifle. The attack called more for a sniper rifle, but brute strength was Aria's MO; not stealth. Squeezing the trigger down, a spray of rounds flew at the assassin, striking his shields, tearing apart the kinetic barriers and piercing his light armor. Garrus didn't let up until he heard the man whelp in pain as a bullet struck his right hip. The krogan were already rushing inside on Aria's order. Garrus didn't have a chance to warn them. As suspected, there was the sound of an explosion towards the front of the complex and the sounds of agony from tenants caught in the aftermath and the deadly groans from the krogan succumbing to their wounds after the blast. Garrus had knocked Liara down and used his body as a shield to protect her from any flying debris. Luckily, the blast was focused on the entrance hallway to protect an ambush, so it was not directly on them. The man still dangled helplessly in the air when they stood back up. "Liara…" Garrus said gently as he tried not to look over at the hallway destruction. The front of the complex was charred, and dead burnt corpses were exposed where once happily tenants lived.

"I'm on it…" Liara launched another biotic attack. This time a throw maneuver. Tossing the man like a rag doll out of the window towards the streets below. Garrus ran and caught the man before he came to a deadly splat on the concrete floor.

Blood stained the man's clothing on the right side where the hip was struck. Not fatal, but he could bleed out if not given the proper attention. The man appeared to be young in his early thirties with red hair that was combed over. The ends of the hair were neatly cut up to the nape of the neck. Shock consumed the man's body from the hit and he momentarily at some time during the biotic hold, lost consciousness. His head drooped towards the right side exposing the same familiar tattoo image of Hades on his neck. Gasping, Garrus gingerly placed him down and tapped him with the scuff of his boot. "Seems like they are getting closer."

"That him?" Aria walked over with the last remaining guard by her side. Her eyes didn't even move over to where the krogan went. There was no need to check on any survivors; there were none.

"Yes," Liara frowned, seeing the same tatt as well. "It seems like it."

"Who are they?" Aria asked. When the others would not speak, this infuriated her. "I don't like being kept in the dark on issues that are happening on my station. You already pissed me off snooping around."

"We didn't think at first that it concerned you." Liara curtly replied.

Aria eyed her carefully. "Well it concerns me now, so start talking."

A soft grunt from the man below caught their attention and all eyes turned downwards to where he was. He opened his green eyes, focused on the aliens and then turned his eyes away in disgust. "No talk back?" Garrus asked to the group in surprise.

"He will." Aria said in assurance as hatred consumed her.

The man snapped his face back towards her direction. "I don't talk to alien shit like you," He spat saliva at her, hitting the upper part of her shirt.

Aria's cold expression remained poised. She didn't bother to look at her shirt. She took the heel of her boot and jammed it sharply into his open wound. The man screamed loudly as she continued to press it down into the torn flesh. The man screamed louder until his body went into an unconsciousness state once more from shock. "They all talk when I'm through with them," She whispered to his silent form matter-of-factly. She looked over at her batarian companion. "Ebrako, get this piece of filth out of my sight."

"I'm on it." The batarian moved to grab the human by the arms to drag him along with him to the club.

Aria turned her attention back on her previous captives. "Lose the gun." She held out her hand to take Garrus' weapon back. "Don't think this means I'm letting you go yet."

"Aria, we are on the same side." Liara shook her head tiresomely in exasperation.

"I just been shot at and you two know who this guy is with. Once I'm done with him, then I will deal with you."

Garrus handed her the weapon and motioned her to move on. "This guy could give us more information than that volus, Liara." He pointed out. He and she reluctantly began to follow Aria and Ebrako back to Afterlife.

"It doesn't seem he really wants to talk." Liara muttered sadly. She thought back to the ex-Cerberus operatives that they uncovered following their raids on the Cerberus outposts. Many took their own lives rather than becoming prisoner. It seemed like this guy's intentions were the same. He didn't plan on Aria having backup from Garrus and Liara. In fact, she began to wonder if it was pure coincidence that this guy's attack on T'Loak happened around the same time of her arrival on Omega. He was dug in. Did he plan it? Did he know that Garrus was already there? A lot of unanswered questions rattled inside her head.

"Oh, he will talk," Aria's response was smug. "They always do."


	3. Chapter 3

MASS EFFECT: WINTER EYES

CHAPTER 3: PHAROS

Moon of Pharos, Athens System:

The long strawberry blonde woman paused her wine glass just at the base of her lips, allowing the rim to gently touch her flesh. She could smell the Thessia Red's sweet scent, alluring her senses. Her fingers gently holding the glass as her jade green eyes glanced at the monitor screen in front of her. The information displayed was satisfying enough to her delight to prevent her evening's routine glass of wine. Any non-self-restraining human would take the victorious moment to celebrate. Not her. Not Erinyes. Of course, not her real name, but the alias that she picked up herself following the Reaper War. This was following the death of the Illusive Man. Before that time, she was simply known as Code Omega Alpha. Symbolism at its best. Omega for the last and Alpha for the beginning. She was the renovatio. The rebirth of Cerberus. Special instructions were given to her before and after the Illusive Man's death. He always had a contingency. Their new location was given to her right before he went to the Citadel. Before then, her residence was always some outpost in the outreach of the Alliance. She never stayed in one spot for more than a month. The Illusive Man specifically picked the officers closest to her. He never trusted anyone. Most of her life, she was hidden away, and she never saw the Illusive Man unless it was a holo vid on a secure channel. She missed him dearly. She had to remain strong. Not just for her sake, but the for the sake of Charon, for the sake of humanity. That is what his purpose was for Cerberus. That was his purpose for how he kept her guarded. The Illusive Man knew that the organization known as Cerberus would be targeted if he should fail over his dominance of the Reapers. He planned on it, but he would keep the ideology in the secrete group known as Charon. He would keep the ideology going in his daughter, Sarah Harper. Any normal twenty-nine-year-old would be lost if their only parent was whisked away at such an early age for her. This was drilled into her since her late teenage years. The xenophobe manifest was the only thing she knew. She never had direct contact with aliens. Jack Harper's beliefs were all that she knew. Her isolation is what kept her focus. The only contact she had was with instructors like Kai Leng who trained her in military and combat dominance. Her father taught all that he knew about being a merc and an operative for the Alliance when he was in a special group during the First Contact War. Now was the time that he planned for. She couldn't fail him now. Hence her code name, Erinyes. In Greek mythology, Erinyes was one of the goddesses of vengeance. She would be her father's vengeance against all those that betrayed and led him to his doom.

Ironically, their current location was at an abandoned base on the moon of Pharos. It belonged to the Turians during the First Contact War despite the system now having a human label. A firm reminder of what the humans fought far: Galactic expansion. The First Contact War was the prelude to the birth of the Illusive Man. Jack Harper along with his comrades, Ben and Eva, had interactions with many turians and the conspiracy behind an artifact. The artifact that turned out to be Reaper tech and probably led to the indoctrination of Saren Arterius. The artifact turned Jack's old friend Ben into a new entity and the fight for control of the relic caused the death of his friend, Eva. Jack was blasted with the artifact and gained new insight on the dark times that would befall humanity years later. He vigilantly fought to control human dominance and make them strong. He invested endless amounts of credits to resurrect Macha Shepard following the attack on the Normandy by the Collectors. The Illusive Man knew that Macha was a crucial piece in the fight for survival against the Reapers. Sarah knew that without her father's backing, humanity would have fallen quickly. Macha's betrayal infuriated her. With her constant interference, not only did Cerberus have to fight against the Reaper forces, but they also had to entangle with Shepard and her squad along with the Alliance. The strains depleted a lot of their resources and many were defecting to get away. This made her father become desperate. So desperate that she believed that he had no choice, but to install the Reaper technology to move forward with his theory without fully testing everything out. He was not ready to control the power that the Reapers had. Sarah fully did not grasp what transpired on the Citadel after he went forward with his mission. All she knew was that the catalyst at some point was activated, destroying the Reapers that they knew of and her father was among one of the casualties.

His movement already caused her group to activate. A team was deployed in secret to Earth. They donned their appearance to be Alliance soldiers. They would be Erinyes' eyes and ears on Earth during the final battle once Team Hammer landed. Many of her good agents were killed by Reaper forces, however, her gamble paid off. Shepard's unconscious body was uncovered by her team and they quickly took her off world before the Alliance was able to start using search parties. Macha's viability was concerning to Erinyes. Somehow, she was found in rubble after going up against Harbinger and the Reapers. How could a mortal human stand so much? Is this what her father was after? He saw what potential Macha had. Shepard was taken back to Pharos and kept highly sedated to keep her completely unaware. There, she remained until her medical and research team secured all the data that they could. They hacked into Alliance and Citadel archives, retrieving documents on Shepard's application for the N7 program, her reports on the Normandy and any other documents submitted over to Alliance command for review. Charon even acquired Council transcripts of meetings with the former human Spectre along with video footage from cameras. Even with the loss of the Citadel, the data in the archives were constantly backed up to various points throughout the galaxy. Elkoss was one manufacturer that provided Shepard with most of her weapons and armor.

It took years to get Macha to the state she was currently in now, but it was worth the wait. Charon was never detected by the Alliance and was never linked directly to Cerberus. That kept them safe during the witch hunts. The project continued. Erinyes knew her father was weak in not proceeding with the control chip that their ex-operative Miranda Lawson requested during Project Lazarus. The Illusive Man believed that this may taint the Commander's personality or trust. However, this unshackled the Commander's control. Erinyes would not make the same mistake. The control chip design would be unique, and she had their best developers on the task. Macha's memories following her N7 induction would be swept away. There was always a risk of some residual feedback, but the neuro staff concluded that this would be mostly during REM sleep and perceptive to Macha like dreams. Partial and unexplainable. Macha Shepard's identity would be scrubbed and she would go by the name of Raven. Her hair was dyed to be a midnight black and styled to where it would be cut at the base of her neck with a bang barely drooping over her right eye. Lavender color contacts were placed for her iris color. Unlike the older contacts in the twentieth century, these would not simply fall out and could remain in without irritation. It would appear to be normal eye color and not even she would know unless a medical staff attempted to remove the contact. Information was fed to Raven slowly to help with comprehension. Upon her awakened state, she was advised that the Alliance discharged her after the Reaper War when she got into a battle with some aliens. The story was that a fellow comrade of hers was being bullied by two turians. Raven stood up for her friend and was attacked. She killed both the Turians and the race demanded blood and retribution. With a terrible war just ending, the Alliance didn't want another race coming at them like the batarians. They gave Shepard a dishonorable discharge and swept the matter underneath a rug. She was advised by Erinyes that Raven joined Charon a few months later and the group sympathized with her cause of action. They informed her that she suffered a concussion with slight amnesia after the attack so her short term memory left her. They filled in the missing pieces. Captain David Anderson was killed by the Alliance as a betrayal when he spoke up against Shepard's case. With just coming onto the N7 program, Raven recalled only serving three missions on the SR-1 Normandy with her former Captain. She struggled to know of anything else.

Erinyes stated there was too much corruption in the Alliance and they had to take out key targets that were in on Anderson's death and her setup. Actuality, Erinyes was targeting aliens connected to Commander Shepard. She obtained names from various reports. She already knew the complete crew that accompanied her on missions, but she wanted to savor their deaths till the end. She wanted to use Macha in her own killings as much as possible. She wanted their blood to be on her hands before she slipped her control off. She wanted Macha to suffer horribly mentally when everything was unveiled before Erinyes took her time in killing her. That would be the only way closest to the sorrow that Sarah endured when her father was slain. Raven was not part of any of the assassinations yet. Erinyes was working her way up. However, Shepard was part of the briefs. Major Kirrahe was a high-ranking STG official: Responsible in several human cities following to the Reapers when he pulled his troops back to save his men. Hundreds of children were killed. Rana, was a scientist; responsible for the crude and savage experiments on humans to test indoctrination. Their latest target, Aria T' Loak, was a pirate scumbag of Omega and enslaved thousands of humans for her eezo mines to keep production going while their families died in other colonies. Their reports of what the aliens were doing to her kind, outraged Raven. Charon really opened her eyes to the world. She regretted not being able to recall everything on her own, but the reports were clear to her. How could the Alliance just sit there and let all of this happen? Raven had the support of many on the Citadel and on Earth. She had good relations with the aliens whenever she had some interactions with them. She was a bit leery of them though. To her, they were the type of person that would smile to you to your face while trying to stab you in the back. Was the Alliance in some crooked backroom politics? Were they that afraid of Macha exposing them? She couldn't believe their betrayal despite her years of servitude and sacrifice.

Thomas Wade's report was late. It was due twenty minutes ago and there was no contact yet from him. He was one of her top operatives that was tasked to take out Aria on Omega. Raven caught onto Erinyes' look of displeasure as she entered the briefing room that afternoon. "Anything?" She was donned in her usual non-uniform attire, which consisted of black pants, black tank and black combat boots. The Hades insignia tattooed on her right arm unlike many of the others who chose to wear their allegiance on their neck.

Erinyes eyed the other woman in the room carefully. "He must have had trouble." She swore underneath her breath. She should had been more careful. She figured Surkesh would have been the hardest target.

"I'll go there." Raven looked across the holo map over to her. "You know what kind of rank I had with the Alliance. I'm a soldier. I can handle myself on Omega."

Erinyes bit back her first response to quickly say no. She had to play this safe. "I'll get surveillance first. If Thomas failed, then Aria will be on high alert. Sending another operative would not be wise." She glanced over at another woman sitting behind a desk manning a terminal. "Hack Aria's systems again. Different location this time."

"Understood." The woman already knew what her employer was referring to. Aria was not stupid and constantly had surveillance on her systems. If there was a breach in the security, it would be quickly traced to a source. A false location would be given; much further out than their current location. They already used this trick once, so the same name would cause some concern. It would be a quick scan in the system without download and out. Charon had some of the best hackers that humanity had to offer. Many could outdo salarians who were always prized at being top. Erinyes had to be sure it would be safe to send Raven in. She had to make sure there would be no communication between Omega's leader and the former Commander. The two crossed paths many times. Despite her altered appearance and identification scans, Aria would have no problem seeing her resembling Spectre. Raven's mission had to be clear so there could be no hesitation on her part.

Despite Erinyes holding Raven back like a mother with a young child, her craving to take out a person who harmed her father could not go unquenched any further. It was time to see what Raven could do. Another operative would accompany her of course. She had to choose wisely…Erinyes switched the screen over to a picture of a dark-haired woman with bright blue eyes. "This is former Cerberus operative, Miranda Lawson."

"Cerberus? You mean she was working closely with Charon?" Raven asked as she studied the picture. The woman's image was foreign to her.

"We all know the front that Alliance put on Cerberus. Miranda betrayed humanity and sided with the aliens as well. We think she had some influence by many sympathizers. She…spoke out against you a lot during your hearing on the charges."

"That's…enlightening," Raven sighed as she pulled away from the screen. "I can't believe the motive there."

"Reports advised that she was thinking of hiring assassins to finish you off. Said you were a bad image for humanity. She was fired shortly after her argument."

"Her location?"

"Everything will be transmitted to your ship and omni tool when you depart here."

Erinyes finally allowed herself to breathe. So far, the ruse was working.

"When am I leaving?"

"Now."


	4. Chapter 4

MASS EFFECT: WINTER EYES

CHAPTER 4: ALEENA

Garrus watched Liara intently as she typed away at the terminal that was housed in their room at Afterlife. They were left in there alone, but two of Aria's guards were posted right outside. Even if they managed to get the door lock, they wouldn't be able to fight their way through without arousing some type of alarm from within. "Can we send out a distress signal?" He whispered to her.

Liara shook her head as she paused in her work. "Aria is smart. Her tech team most likely has this mirrored with their own. Anything I do on here, they can see live," She answered in a hushed tone. The terminal was a sick joke. A feign escape route. Liara knew that even with her capabilities for hacking, she couldn't pull up her private databases without Aria being notified. Despite their current predicament, she would not risk giving away her identity as the Shadow Broker. That information was deadly even if Aria did not disclose it right away. Information was power, and it wasn't like T'Loak needed any more. "We will need to work with Aria on this, I'm afraid."

Garrus huffed under his breath as he shoved himself away from the back of her chair to pace around in their confinement. "You really think she will work with us? She has the advantage right now."

Liara frowned from his statement. He was right. Aria never liked to share knowledge unless she got something in return. "The attacks are becoming aggressive." She pointed out. "Dealing with an organized xenophobe?"

"Xenophobe who is targeting Shepard's connections." Garrus added. "Not a good day to be a non-human."

Liara glumly turned back around to see what she could find out so far on the terminal. A high alert on the extranet grabbed her attention. It took her several reads to fully comprehend the title of the article from the shock. "Goddess…..." The rest of her words failed her.

"What is it?" Garrus moved back over to see what she found.

"There was another attack…this time on the New Citadel." Her lips trembled as her blue eyes scanned over the words. The New Citadel was the name given to the Starline cruiser that was built after the Reaper War. The original Citadel was destroyed by the Catalyst and without the old Prothean technology, they didn't have the means to create a structure so lavish right away. The state of the art cruiser that was meant for luxury passenger trips was donated to the Council races. The newly established Council was housed there since the original government body lost their lives on the Citadel along with new ambassadors. Embassies were opened for all races to start off with the theme to everyone living in harmony. That included the quarians and batarians. Both races were shunned down prior to the Reaper War's conclusion.

"Who was the victim?" Garrus tried to move over the article to catch up with her.

"Well, the intended victim was Admiral Tali'Zorah vas Neema. It says here that she was on the Citadel to assist in the petition from the Drell ambassador to find a new homeworld for the drell due to the increase of cases of Kepral's Syndrome. The quarians were sympathetic to them due to their previous struggle with the Geth and their exile from Rannoch.

"Intended?" Garrus lifted an eye ridge as he moved his avian eyes away to her for an explanation.

Liara remained quiet as she finished reading the document. "By the Goddess…no…." She choked on her words.

"Remember that Javik pointed out the Protheans were actually-," The turian countered as he thought back to her time at the temple on Thessia. It was discovered that the Protheans were the ones that the ancient asari mistook for goddesses. The entire religion of the Asari was a farce.

Liara shot him a cold glare. "I don't want to talk about that." The subject was still touchy for her. On top of losing her homeworld, she had to deal with the sheer notion that everything she was taught as a youngling was a complete lie. Those that she prayed to lift her up were nothing more than dead Protheans.

"Sorry." Garrus cleared his throat as he realized that his jab was not ideal. "Who was the victim?"

Liara lowered her eyes sadly. "Doctor Karen Chakwas. Witnesses say that she must have seen the assassin before Tali did. She took the bullet instead."

"Spirits…" Garrus pounded the desk with his fist hard as he moved away once more.

"It said that she was with Tali as they were comminuting back to the ambassador's office. Dr. Chakwas aided Tali to give her dissertation on her research of Kepral's Syndrome."

"I thought she retired from the Alliance a few years after the war?" Garrus asked in confusion.

"She did, but she went to the New Citadel to work part time at their clinic. Tali must have reached out to her for assistance on the petition."

"They have him in custody?"

"The assassin was pursued and killed by C-Sec. They flagged the assassin to be Derrick Himenez." She swiped the displayed window aside and brought up a new search box to look up the name. "Ex merc, current information dates back ten years ago. Nothing since then."

"Wrong place…wrong time, crap." Garrus shook his head as he felt anger shake his body. "We can't stay here any longer. Our friends are being killed one by one!"

Liara stood up from the terminal station. "I agree. I don't like the idea of being trapped in a room when I may be hunted."

"No one knows that we are here."

A playful smirk spread across the asari's blue lips. "I wouldn't say that. I have a contact set to arrive momentarily. They were pre-scheduled if I didn't meet them at the rendezvous date and time from departing Omega."

The news floored the turian, and his jaw dropped slightly. "How did you get that arranged?"

The grin remained on her face. "Remember who you are talking to."

Garrus chuckled from the good news. "Who is our savior?"

A quick whiff of the air as the krogan departed from his ship at the Omega docks, made him scrunch his face. "Varren shit hole still smells the same." Urdnot Wrex eyed the crowd that bustled to and from their various ships. "Let's get this over with." Donning a deep red Battlemaster armor, Wrex didn't have any trouble pushing his way through the streets. Most of those who were in his way, quickly stepped aside to allow him to pass, fearing bodily harm. Krogan were not unusual on the asteroid space station, but other races still feared the burly reptile species; especially equipped to be a Krogan Battlemaster. Seeing a few krogan mercs eyeing him cautiously as he passed made him chuckle as their images brought back old memories. "Good times."

The walk to the front of the Afterlife club was short from his arrival and he noticed the long line that seemed to wrap around several blocks. A much shorter line formed to the right under a sign that displayed "VIP." Eying both, he moved to the right and shoved those in front of him to get to the front. "Out of the way," He barked. A few grumbled and shouted in anger by his action but none dared to really do anything about it. They figured that the bouncer working the queue would have a say in the matter. At the front of the line was another krogan manning the entry point. His skin tone matched Wrex's and a few scars were noticeable on his neck. He took note of the newcomer and stepped to face Wrex and block his entrance with his assault rifle in his hands. "No cutting in line," He snapped.

Wrex ignored the statement until he got to the front and squared off with the bouncer. Seeing him, made him snarl angrily. "I know you, Triksor. So, this is the rock you crawled under?"

"Back off, Wrex. This line is for VIP only. You're not on the list."

"Good thing you didn't stay on Tuchanka after I took over." Wrex narrowed his eyes dangerously as he didn't budge. "You know what happens to clanless. Especially those that forsake the clan Urdnot name? I should tear you apart right here."

"You were always a pain in the quad, Wrex. This isn't Tuchanka, so I don't give a crap what you say about clans. They mean shit here." Triksor spat back. "Since we fought together in the Krogan Rebellion, I'll give you one more time to state your business."

Wrex responded with a swift hard headbutt right into Triksor' s face. The impact made the other lose his footing and he stumbled back slightly. Blood dripped down his face as a part of his upper skin broke open. "That's my business."

Seeing the violent display ahead, a batarian guard hurried down the steps to check out the commotion. He quickly aimed his rifle at Wrex. "What are you doing here, scum?!"

Wrex kept his yellow eyes on Triksor. "I need to talk to Aria. That's your boss' name, right?"

"You're not on the list, Wrex!" The other krogan bellowed at him. The batarian remained quiet at his position.

"I can be. Tell her that I'm here for Liara T'Soni." Wrex replied with a smile.

Triksor and the batarian looked at one another quietly, giving away their knowledge of who he was referring to; neither said a word. Wrex's smile disappeared. "Which of you pyjaks do I need to headbutt again to get some movement?"

Aria stormed into the room with two batarians in tow. Her appearance put Liara and Garrus back on guard. "Did you find anything useful from my terminal?" She directly asked Liara as her eyes poised on her.

"Yes," Liara didn't flinch as she replied. "There was another killing. This time on New Citadel."

Garrus recognized the batarian on Aria's left; it was Bray. Macha Shepard's contact on the Citadel when Aria flagged her for her help to get Omega back. Macha talked about her conversation with T'Loak with him after her return to the Normandy. Garrus didn't like the idea of Shepard going in alone, but he had to trust her. The other on Aria's right, he didn't place. Bray opened his omni tool to review some data. "She's telling the truth."

"That's comforting." Aria's eyes remained on T'Soni. "I see that you finally decided to cooperate. That is wise."

"What did you turn up in the interrogation?" Garrus asked impatiently. They needed to get out of here. He began to wonder if Wrex even arrived at the station yet. He knew that their old friend was an excellent fighter, but what could he do against her forces? Liara seemed confident in his tagging along. He hoped that she was right.

The other batarian chortled. "You can get all kinds of shit when you torture them." The tone of his voice seemed to indicate to the pair that violence thrilled him. "Especially when you break their fingers slowly one by one."

Aria smiled to his comment. "Yes. Yes, you can, Sh'sk. That's why I already have you at the task." She glanced back at Vakarian and T'Soni who seemed to be a bit uncomfortable with the disclosure. "Good thing to remember. Bray?"

"The group is called Charon. Boss name is Erinyes. Queries came back with no information on her. Most likely not an official name." He read off the data from his omni.

"Erinyes in human culture is a Greek goddess of vengeance." Liara pointed out. "Charon in the same was the ferryman of Hades, aka the underworld."

"Humans?" Aria scoffed by the news. "I knew it."

"The recent attack was supposed to be on our old friend, Tali, but the assassin killed Dr. Chakwas instead." Liara brought up what they found out so far on the terminal.

C-Sec killed the assassin, but all details points out to the same group. Human, ex-merc, no information for the past ten years." Garrus chimed in.

"Probably, scrubbed, boss." Sh'sk put in his two cents.

"How obvious, Sh'sk. Thank you," Sarcasm oozed off Omega leader's lips before she addressed their prisoners once again. "It's good to see that we are working together on this. I should have never worked with Shepard. She has brought nothing but trouble to this station."

"You're right, Aria." Garrus snapped back angrily as his fists became clenched after hearing her statement. "She should have let Cerberus keep Omega and not helped you. We didn't need your help. You would have remained on the Citadel and died when the Reapers took control of the station. If it wasn't for her, you wouldn't be having this conversation right now with us!"

The sudden outburst didn't faze her. She knew what he said was true, but she would never admit to that. "Careful. Remember who you are talking to," She hissed lowly at him.

"Is that all you found out?" Liara inquired, trying to redirect the conversation back to the matter at hand away from the tangent. What Aria disclosed so far was everything she already knew. They were back to square one.

Bray glanced over at his boss for her orders. She silently nodded to give her approval. He pulled up his tool's display again. "There seems to be some sort of target list. This guy only knew of the next one and that's it. Miranda Lawson. Our guy was supposed to be on it." The batarian paused and then chuckled at his own private joke. "He will miss out."

"That's as useful that he was to me." Aria noted. "I had Sh'sk kill him. I never like loose ends…." She let her words linger to give off a double meaning at her intent.

Garrus could feel a chill go down his spine. Was she planning on doing the same to him and Liara? "Charon won't let the job go undone, Aria." He knew he had to play into this.

"Let them try." Aria dismissed the statement with a laugh.

"Aria," Liara glared angrily at the fellow asari. "Without us, you would have been killed out there." Her tone becoming short and icily. The sudden change from the soft spoken asari seemed to shock Garrus.

T'Loak remained quiet. Suddenly, a chime came from the Bray's tool. "Yes, what is it?" She asked out in annoyance.

"_There's a krogan here demanding to see you. Says he's there for Liara T'Soni_." The batarian replied on the other side.

Aria glared at her captives. "Your backup?" She lifted an eye ridge at T'Soni as she crossed her arms. She didn't allow the other to speak before addressing the batarian. "Let him in."

Seconds later, the room's door opened and Urdnot Wrex bounded in with another krogan following him should things get out of hand. The guard was holding Wrex's famed shotgun that he liked to take around with him on various missions. A fit of laughter spilled out of Wrex's mouth as he took note of Aria T'Loak standing there. The sudden outburst confused everyone in the room except for Aria. The purple skinned asari almost seemed a bit happy by his appearance and a smile appeared on her lips. "I heard an asari was running this place after Cergon, just never cared to find out who it was. So, now you are Aria. You own this shit hole?"

"He's known as Patriarch now. Careful, Wrex. I respect you, but this is my station." Aria curtly shot back.

Garrus and Liara exchanged confused looks with one another. Aria's men were doing the same. "Wrex didn't tell me he knew Aria…" Liara whispered over to her turian friend.

"He didn't tell me either…" Garrus whispered back.

"I would start where we left off, but duty calls." Wrex moved towards his old friends. "How you holding up, Liara?"

Liara gaped at her friend with wide surprised eyes still. "I-I'm fine," She stammered to find her words.

Garrus found his voice as he turned to their captor. "You letting us go?"

"Yes," Aria dismissed them with her hand. "I trust that you will disclose of anything else you find about this Charon."

"Of course," Liara felt the weight coming off her body in knowing that they would be leaving the station soon. "I take you will do the same."

Aria remained tight lip and looked over at Bray. "Bray, escort them back to their ship. See to it, quickly."

"Alright." Bray motioned them to follow him out.

Wrex paused at the door as he took up the rear and turned his thick head back towards Aria. "Don't think I forgot about that volus contract, Aleena." He grinned.

Aria grinned back at him. "Better luck next time."

"How come you didn't tell us you knew Aria?" Liara whispered over to Wrex as they followed Bray through the streets of Omega towards the docks.

Their krogan companion gave a light-hearted shrug. "Didn't know it was her."

"I should have known she had another alias."

"Probably not the only one."

"You and she had a falling out? Did you work for her?" Garrus walked up with them to catch in on their conversation.

Wrex chuckled. "We were mercs once. Had the same contract. We both didn't want to get into each other's way and then a volus put a contract on her. I couldn't pass up the creds. We fought…damn, she was good," He paused to linger in his thoughts as a grin went across his lips. "Too damn good. Used up all my ammo and I only wounded her. Blew up the place we were at. I got out and thought she was done for."

"You didn't know she was alive?" Liara listened in carefully.

"Yeah, she gave me a message when I was halfway back to get paid. Never heard from her since."

Garrus chuckled and shook his head. "I can't believe this. Did you ever tell Shepard?"

"Yeah."

Both their eyes went wide. "What?!"

Wrex shrugged. "She asked. I just think she and I never knew that Aria was in fact Aleena. She hasn't changed since the time I saw her."

"Well, asari don't really show age by their physical appearance…except for their…" Liara felt her face become hot as she realized what type of conversation that she was leading herself into. She cleared her throat and tried to look away to hide the redness that flushed in on her cheeks.

"Their what?" Wrex inquisitively asked, not sure where she was going with it.

Liara bit her lip as her mind raced to find another subject of interest to discuss. "You and her planning a rematch?"

The krogan laughed. "Maybe after this is over. Been awhile since I had a good fight."

Garrus quickened his steps to catch up with Bray as they neared the docks. The four-eyed batarian eyed him carefully as he took his side. "What the hell do you want?"

"You know Macha told me about your fighting skills on Omega when she came here to help Aria." Garrus tried to lighten the mood. He didn't take offense to the other's snarky jab. Batarians were the opposite of the hanar.

Bray shrugged. "Don't know what the big fuss was about over her. Aria wanted her help, so I do what she says." He stopped at the dock's entrance. "Your ship is down there and the impound has been lifted. You shouldn't have any trouble in leaving. This is far as I'm going."

"Bray, be careful. Aria is not safe." Liara urged him. He replied with a grunt and turned to head back to the club.

"And I thought turians were difficult to deal with." Wrex smirked at Garrus.

"Careful, Wrex." Garrus chuckled.

Liara led the group through the docks. "We need to get a message to Miranda quickly."

Garrus stopped midstride when he noticed that they passed her ship. "Um, Liara?" Wrex continued past him to follow the asari.

"We are not taking that one." Liara called to him as she continued.

"Get with the program, Vakarian." Wrex bantered.

Confused, Garrus hastened his steps to keep up and realized that they were moving to the ship that Wrex must have used to dock there. He looked at his old friends quizzically. Liara remained quiet until all three were onboard and the doors were locked. "Aria may have released my ship, but I don't trust her not to have it traced and bugged while we were held." The blue asari sat down behind the controls with Wrex to her left. The krogan was already flipping the initiation switches to warm the engines up.

Garrus remained puzzle at the doorway and leaned his right arm up against it as he watched on. "When I was going to be in on this?"

"Hey, you went in hiding on Omega." Liara teased back with a smile.

"You just going to leave your ship here? What about everything onboard?"

"Oh yeah…" Liara brought up her omni tool and with a quick few taps of her fingertips, she closed it down with a look of satisfaction. "That should take care of it. I remotely erased everything and even took the name off." She then pushed a button to her right. "Glyph?"

A small holo image of her AI companion displayed on the screen. "Yes, Dr. T'Soni?"

"I need a query on all available locations for Miranda Lawson. Upon finding, send a message to her. Tell her that she needs to contact me. It is urgent."

"Where we going?" Wrex asked as he started to lift the ship away from its magnetic locks to head out. Garrus stumbled back to his seat to strap in for the departure.

Liara chewed her lip as she eyed her comrades. "We are being hunted."

"We do not have the resources nor the time to warn everyone." Garrus brought up.

"At least we know that they are after Miranda. We need to find her first." Wrex guided his ship away from Omega's orbit.

"I agree. Let's see if we can meet up with Tali until Miranda responds. Head towards New Citadel for now. Let's get far away from Omega as we can."


	5. Chapter 5

MASS EFFECT: WINTER EYES

CHAPTER 5: ALT HUMAN

"Keelah. What do you think is going on?" Tali's trembling voice came through the video display as the image showed her helmeted face. Despite living on their homeworld, the quarians simply couldn't disregard their long worn envirosuits. Careful limited exposure to their planet's atmosphere was the only way. Travel outside Rannoch still required the use of the suits despite their dismay. It was the only way to prevent illnesses to their planet until their bodies could adapt. Salarian doctors were providing medical assistance. The elder STG members who worked on the genophage were instrumental in providing immunoboosters in some of the candidates to eventually make the envirosuits obsolete even outside of Rannoch. A long-awaited desire of the quarians. Even though none of the occupants on the ship could see Tali's face, they felt could imagine the petrified look on her face. The shock of the failed assassination attempt did not wear off yet and the loss of an old comrade made things even worse.

"I don't know, Tali. We are still working on leads…I hope we find Miranda in time." Liara admitted softly.

"Are you safe? Did C-Sec provide you security?" Garrus spoke up.

"Yes. I have two officers outside my door." The quarian wrung her hands. "Why are they doing this now? I have an important conference tomorrow regarding the status of the talks."

"Rannoch would be too difficult to pinpoint you down." Liara checked their heading momentarily. "I will assign two of my best agents to be your personal escorts."

"Thank you, Liara."

"If I were you, I would get your tail back to Rannoch until this blows over." Wrex piped in from his seat. "C-Sec is useless as a salarian is for breeding."

Liara tilted her head at him in confusion by his statement. "I don't exactly what you mean by that…"

Garrus chuckled. "You never change, Wrex, do you?"

"I'm not going back to Rannoch." Tali answered, directing their focus to the task at hand. Within the turmoil, it was natural to reminiscence about good times. "I remember what Cerberus did when they infiltrated the Migrant Fleet…I won't let it happen again."

"We are not positive that this is in fact Cerberus." Garrus pointed out. "If Charon is, then they did a damn good job of hiding it."

"Stay safe out there." Tali softly said goodbye before the video connection terminated.

"At least we know she will be well covered." Liara allowed herself to momentarily relax back into her seat.

"For now. Two failed attempts won't bode well with their boss. They may start to get desperate. Send more than one assassin." Garrus gulped slightly. They really needed to know just how many agents Charon had. A dozen? Twenty? Hundred? What type of resources did the organization have? The knowledge they had so far about Shepard's ties was proof enough that they were well organized, smart, and loaded with creds. A very dangerous enemy.

"Glyph. Anything?" Liara called to her AI assistant.

The spherical holo image appeared at her station. "I believe that I have located the subject, Dr. T'Soni. Transports manifests indicate that Miranda Lawson arrived at Elysium a year ago with her sister, Oriana Lawson. No record of departure since that time. I have located her video contact information. Shall I initiate contact?"

"Yes. Hurry." Liara like the others now were on the edge of their seats. Could they reach their friend before her untimely death? Would the attempt on her life endanger her sister once again? When Macha Shepard was alive, she aided Miranda in rescuing her baby sister from their father, Henry Lawson, on Ilium. Then again at Sanctuary on Horizon. Oriana had no connection with Shepard except for those events. Would Erinyes really care? It didn't seem like life mattered to them. The MO was unknown and that made things difficult.

Minutes later, the dark black vid screen came to life revealing the image of Miranda Lawson. Her facial appearance remained the same. She seemed almost as ageless as Liara T'Soni. "Well, you're a sight for sore eyes." She smiled at them.

"I wish this call was on better terms…" Liara stated sadly, hinting at the conversation's mood.

"They never seem to be." Miranda replied more serious. The same tone she carried when she aided Shepard in her fight against the Collectors. "The line is secure. I guess you also heard about the news reports?"

"You following this too?" Garrus asked.

"Always have to be careful. I have had a target on my back since I left Cerberus. I never felt safe. Even after the Illusive Man died."

"We got one of them on Omega. He said they are coming after you next." Wrex brought up what they found out from Aria's torture event.

"Damnit…and Oriana?"

"No word about her, but this group is targeting individuals associated with Shepard." Liara pulled up the data on the screen next to her. "That's the only pattern that we can come up with. Without Shepard, no one really had a connection."

"The attack on Tali shows that they are getting closer to Macha's team. Any one of us could be on that list next after you."

"Ha!" Wrex laughed. "I would love to see them try against me."

Liara glared at him slightly. "Be serious, Wrex."

"I am." The krogan nodded.

"I knew that her being here with me was not a good idea, but she wanted to tag along. I thought Elysium would be safe." Miranda stared down as if she was caught up in her own thoughts and conclusions.

"It's better that she remains there with you. Keep her safe. They may already know that she's there and if she can get to her first, they may use her as some sadistic bait to draw you out." Garrus shifted his stance a bit as he leaned over Liara's shoulder to see the screen.

"Any idea when he or she may get here? How much time do I have to prepare?"

"That's the problem. We have no idea. They may already be there."

"We are heading to Elysium now." Liara motioned Wrex to change the coordinates to her location. "We can meet up somewhere."

"Negative." Miranda shook her head. "If they are here, then they know my place. I may have a tail on me. Hard to know what to look for.

"You got any weapons?" Wrex looked over from the controls.

"Yeah. I have a stash here. I always have to be cautious. My biotics may be a little rusty."

"Good time to practice."

"We need to draw them out. Get this guy before he gets her or gets away." Garrus pondered over their plan of attack. "Charon mustn't know that we are on to them. Let them think they have the advantage. Miranda, do you have a normal route on Elysium? If they have been watching you, they may have studied where you go every day to nail down a precise location for the attack."

"I do side work here for a security company. I normally go from my apartment through the markets to the transit station."

"Transit station?" Wrex looked over at Garrus. "Lots of people there. Could make the hit and get out."

Garrus shook his head. "Too messy. They would lose her easily in the crowd. Describe the market area, Miranda."

"Vendors located with a few hotels to where guests can watch the activity below. There's an asari architectural fountain in the center of the square."

Garrus glanced over at his teammates. "That could be it. Our assassin would position themselves at one of the hotels. A sniper's haven. Do you ever stop at the market?"

"In the morning. I stop at a human run coffee shop. Depending upon my day."

"She could stop there like normal, giving us time to try to nail down the assassin." Liara chimed in.

"It would have to be quick. It would be hard to scan all the hotels in time." Garrus frowned.

"We will look like a group of confused pyjaks down there scoping the place." Wrex grunted from his seat. "They will spot us."

"We will need to be discreet." Liara assured him. "Garrus, if our attacker is going to snipe out Miranda as you think, then can you find a place high enough to stay out of sight and have a good shot?"

"Yeah. I will need to setup a few hours before Miranda's usual time of travel." The turian nodded.

"If our attacker is on the ground, I can stay close, but far enough out of their field of range, should my biotics need to be called for." Liara continued.

"What about me?" Their krogan squadmate asked. "Don't leave me sitting here on this thing," He moped.

Liara gingerly placed her fingertips on right arm with a warm smile. "I would never forget about you, Wrex. I would feel safer if you are down there with me close by."

"Since the war, there has been more species here besides humans due to the relays 'construction." The dark hair woman brought to their attention on the vid display. "A lot of corporations have hired krogan and turians to be their security forces. I can obtain a guard's uniform for my company for Wrex and have a coworker leave it nearby for pickup."

"Sounds like the corporations on Noveria." Garrus commented, thinking back to all the private security he saw on the frozen world.

"Okay. Miranda, we can be at Elysium in about six hours. When is your shift?" Liara looked back to their old comrade.

"Ten hours from now."

"I will have an hour to find a good spot." Garrus sighed a little. "Not much time, but I'll see what I can do."

"Just have to move a little faster, Vakarian," Wrex smirked at him.

"I'll get things going here on my end," Miranda smiled grimly at the trio. "Thank you for not forgetting about me."

Liara flashed a smile back at her. "We never forget our friends."

"_I hope this guy hurries up. This uniform is a bit small and it's riding me_," Wrex's grumbly voice came through their ear pieces.

Garrus glanced down through his scope to the krogan to see his friend shifting back and forth in an uncomfortable manner. The turian couldn't help, but to laugh in seeing his friend's plight. "Gaining some weight, Wrex?"

He could see the krogan turning to glare in his direction. "_Shut it, Vakarian_."

"_Focus, boys_." Liara's voice cooed over the radio.

"_Yeah. I mean my life is on the line here_," Miranda joined in on the banter. Her voice slightly wavered from the sheer anxiety of the situation.

Guilt covered the turian's face as he returned to his task and glanced towards the nearby hotels. There were so many and they all had multiple floors. It was hard to really get a bead on one. Using his scope, he adjusted the zoom to get close as he could. An upgraded scope was a good investment on his part a few months ago. He wasn't too sure if the creds were truly worth it until that day. He could see practically into the windows where the tenants were staying. Most were gone that morning for their activities and housecleaning workers were tiding up the place. Was his gut feeling wrong? Maybe, their would-be killer would be on the ground. A lump formed in his throat. Even with Wrex down with Liara and Miranda, would it be enough? He mentally debated if he should move from where he was at. There was nothing going on and if Miranda lingered too long at the café, then it may tip off the assassin. Tapping his ear comm, he was about to tell the gang that they would have to do something else, when suddenly, movement from the eighth-floor window of the Caribbean Hotel caught his eye. The catch was so quick, that at first, he thought his blue avian eyes were playing tricks on him. He focused his scope on the location, but with the window's position, it was hard to see inside. The Caribbean was located to his right, so he couldn't see straight into the structure. Waiting a few seconds, he then saw the window opening and a hand at the ledge. His heart started to beat rapidly. "Heads up!" He said into the comm. "I got movement at the Caribbean. Stay sharp down there."

"_Crap. I can't see that place from where I'm at. Liara?_" Wrex spoke back.

"_I'm near the hotel, but negative over here. What floor?_" Liara tried not to look the way of the hotel. She nervously glanced over at Miranda who remained casual still. The dark hair woman was just finished paying the vendor and pretended to linger to enjoy a few sips of her coffee. "_Don't walk away just yet, Miranda_." The woman didn't answer, but she could tell that she was listening.

"Come on…" Garrus felt beads of sweat form on his brow as he kept his talon poised at the trigger. His breathing becoming a bit rapid. The hand went back inside momentarily and then the figure returned. This time, Garrus could make out the form: Human, a female, with a sniper rifle at hand! He raised his scope up from where her hands were to get a better bead on her head. "Time to see what you look like."

The woman was eying Miranda's direction and she seemed to be raising her rifle up to aim. Garrus focused his zoom and noted that the woman had black hair, but her facial appearance seemed very familiar to him. Taking his eyes away from the scope, he gaped at her direction without the aid of his rifle, then took to the eye piece again. Was his mind deceiving him? This woman looked exactly like Macha Shepard! Her eye color and hair color were completely different, but everything else remained the same. She was dressed in a light armor that resembled the type he had seen most Infiltrator class mercs used. Garrus' talon trembled at the trigger, something was holding him back from shooting her. He tried to shake the conclusion from his head. "No," He told himself out loud. "She's dead. That's not her, Garrus."

"_Vakarian?_" Wrex's voice boomed in his ear.

Garrus ignored his friend as he kept his sights on her. The assassin was homing in her scope. His heart stopped as he watched her get ready to take the shot. "Miranda, duck!" He yelled into the comm. The time for the element of surprise was over. As if everything was going in slow motion, he watched the woman fire, and then he looked down at the market streets in horror. Miranda ditched her cup and dove to the right to seek shelter behind an empty table, creating a protective biotic barrier over her. This sudden movement created a stir at the scene. Customers quickly moved away as they watched Miranda take the dive. Seconds later, the metal flooring broke apart where she was previously standing as the shooter's disruptor round hit the intended target's location. The struck caused even more chaos and customers began to scream as a stampede occurred.

The assassin stared at the missed shot with a look of shock on her face. Even with the aid of the scope, the shot was very precise and a true professional hit. Garrus remembered how good of a shot that Macha was, especially with a sniper rifle. This was no coincidence. He shifted the barrel slightly and squeezed the trigger. The round struck the window ledge about six inches from where the assassin was standing, startling her completely. The woman jumped back from the shot and then looked his way. Noticing that he was now standing there, she quickly moved away from the window. Collapsing his rifle back down its compact carry-mode for his armor, he set it back in place and took off from his location. "No, you don't!" His heart pounded in his chest as he took off towards the market where his friends here. He had to get to the hotel before Shepard came out. He wouldn't lose her. Tapping his comm piece, he reached out to the group. "Cover the hotel! Look for a black hair woman!" He would not disclose what he saw yet to the team. He had to be sure.

"_I'm trying! Get out of the way_!" Wrex bellowed in the comm at the people fleeing, preventing him to get through. His burly size didn't seem to matter, and he was having difficulty pushing through the wave.

"_There are too many people_!" Liara complained. "_Garrus, what floor_?"

"Eighth! Northern side." Garrus provided the details as he saw his teammates nearing the hotel entrance now. Miranda was nowhere in sight, but his view was obstructed by the chaos. He knew she would stay close.

Reaching the hotel, the guests at the lobby gasped at Wrex, Liara and Garrus as they stormed in. The people in that area could hear the commotion outside, but were oblivious as to what started in. "What's going on? Who are you?!" A turian guest barked at the squad.

Garrus ignored his question and glanced behind him to see Miranda coming in as well. At least now they were all together. "Wrex, Liara," He motioned to the elevator. He raced up the stairs, pumping his legs. A little exercise wouldn't hurt him. Miranda was closing in. Without the hotel schematics, he had no idea how many outlets this place had. For now, he had to choose the two obvious ones. Reaching his floor's destination, he saw Liara and Wrex up ahead in the hallway. There was no sign of anyone. Liara panted as she glanced around. "Which room was it, Garrus?"

The turian tried to remember the angle of the building from where he was. He looked down the hallway and then back up. "Maybe three doors up?"

Miranda moved to the determined room and knocked on the door. "Hotel security." She silently motioned for the others to be ready. Liara withdrew her pistol, while Garrus took out his hand canon. No response. Miranda knocked again. "Hotel security. I need you to open the door."

Wrex growled impatiently, took his shotgun and shot at the controls. With the controls fried, the door slid open to reveal the room. "We don't have time to be polite." The krogan said to justify his action as he stepped inside. "The room's clean."

Garrus noted the opened window. "This was the place."

Liara sighed. "Then they are gone."

Miranda glanced around the room and then went to the window to inspect the assassin's location. She squatted down to examine the floor and then took her omni to scan the area. "No hairs or fingerprints."

Garrus sighed hard in despair as he listened into their conversations. He replayed the whole ordeal in his mind. He could see Macha's face so clearly or, so he thought. "I can't believe it was her…..." His voice trailed off.

"Who?" Liara caught on to his softly spoken words. The others turned to face him.

Garrus lifted his eyes to look upon them. His mandible twitched slightly as he fought back his true emotions. "It was Shepard."

The room became deadly silent from the answer. Before anyone had a chance to speak up, they heard multiple weapons being armed. They turned to see three salarian security workers standing at the doorway with their guns aiming straight at them. "Elysium security! Hands up!"


	6. Chapter 6

MASS EFFECT: WINTER EYES

CHAPTER 6: RAVEN

Moving quickly between breaths, Raven removed her armor, stuffing it in the bag she had alongside her, then slipping on the hotel maid uniform. The bag was a standard issued for the hotel cleaning crew and was large enough to be perfect to house her compacted rifle and armor along with a few extra goodies should there be a cause for it. Her mind raced, and she found herself taking longer to put on the uniform than she practiced. Before her run, she did a timed rehearsal back at basecamp three times; cutting her time down by five seconds each time. There was no room for error and she knew the distraction would cost her. Who was the turian? How come in the back of her mind that he felt somewhat familiar, yet distant? He too was armed with a sniper rifle and clearly had the advantage over her. Was he that terrible of a shot or was it a warning? "Damnit, move it!" She clumsily grabbed her bag and slipped the strap over her right shoulder as she scurried from the room. Pausing at the door, she listened in for a moment to note there were no sounds coming from within the hallway. The coast was clear.

Opening the room's door, she glanced each direction with her lavender eyes, before turning to the escape stairwell. She already downloaded the schematics to the hotel prior to her arrival. She noted a breezeway down on the eastside of the fifth level that connected the building a sky cab car terminal. She had to make it there and catch her ride to the port's dock to leave the planet. Within the hour, the entire place would be on lockdown. Racing down the steps, she paused again at the fifth level's door and listened. Still no one. Thankfully, the chaos below did not make its wave up near her yet. She knew that the turian would be on her and she figured from its past location, that he had about a ten-minute ETA. She had about five minutes left. Swiping her stolen ID badge, she was able to exit the hotel into the breezeway and slowed her pace down. The breezeway contained a few stragglers from the garage who were looking down below, watching the crowd and commenting amongst one another in alarm. Raven glanced leerily at some of them and took the risk of moving over to the closest window side. The people groundside really couldn't see into her location, which was good for her.

Noting a distressed human couple beside her, Raven gasped slightly in feign, watching the people scramble around. "Oh wow…what is going on?" She asked to the couple.

The man of the group, who Raven noted to be in his early twenties with sandy blonde hair, had a petrified look on his face. "They say it was a shooter! I can't tell if anyone was injured."

The woman was sobbing as she clutched him. "I knew we shouldn't have come here, Todd!"

Todd gently held her and tried his best to calm the frantic woman down. "Easy, Jenn. We are safe. They will catch the guy."

Raven placed her hand gently on Jenn's arm as she gave her a comforting smile. "He's right. You are safe. I'm so glad I don't go that way when I leave my shift." She glanced below to see the same turian moving towards the hotel entrance. He was easy to spot because he was working against the crowd. Raven tried her best not to become tense. She then spotted an asari, krogan along with her intended target following him. "Shit." The word slipped out under her breath. "What the hell is going on?" Eying the window once more to see the group gone, she moved away towards her destination, quickening her steps, but not too fast to become suspicious.

Two minutes later, she reached the sky car that was waiting for her. It was one of Charon's agents that was already planted on Elysium and had been monitoring Miranda's movements prior to the attack. The dark purple haired woman looked her way in deep concern as she sat behind the controls. "What took you so long?"

Raven shoved her bag into the back of the vehicle and took the passenger seat beside her, allowing the door closed first before addressing her question. "It was a setup. Someone is onto us." She pressed herself back against the seat as she glared hard up at nothing as the cab exited the garage with other vehicles. "I failed."

"Easy. I didn't notice any aid for Miranda." The woman glanced her way slightly as she maneuvered the vehicle sharply around stopped vehicles. The entire skyway was slowing down, becoming a gridlock due to the disruption below. "Damn traffic. We should still hit the port in ten minutes. I'll radio ahead to make sure we are ready to take off as soon as we get there."

Raven remained silent as she looked out into the darkness from her window, seeing lights of other cabs pass by. The driver's call to their ship becoming background noise. She decided not to relay the information about the turian that stopped her nor his other companions for now. She desperately reached into her mind to figure out how come he looked familiar, but there was a block and she became even more frustrated when trying to solve the mystery. Growling through clenched teeth, Raven hit the side of the cab with her fist. "Damnit!"

The sudden outburst startled the driver and she nearly lifted from her seat. "Calm down! You going to make me crash and I don't want to be stuck here. The whole damn security net will be looking for us shortly. I don't want to spend the rest of my life in an Elysium prison." The woman paused when Raven didn't reply. "You okay? What happened down there?" She frowned.

Raven sighed hard and closed her eyes in dismay. "Ambush."

The peach skin color female salarian escorted Miranda and the others to another room of the precinct. "My apologies for any inconvenience, Ms. Lawson. I know that the entire ordeal of being brought down here is quite embarrassing, but please understand that my men were simply following orders."

"Is the port on lockdown? We can't let this person get away." Miranda asked sharply, ignoring the apology. She was grateful that Garrus and the others showed up when they did. She had no idea what was in store for her. After leaving Cerberus, she knew her life would constantly be in danger; even more so than when she was with the organization. However, the near chance of death without knowledge left her a bit uneasy.

"Yes. I have all shifts working right now, making barricades and setting up checkpoints."

"What about the dock, Sergeant Anisa? Have they grounded the flights?" Garrus brought up as he was the second in line behind them in the hallway. He thought back to his playbook when he was a C-Sec officer. Whenever there was a high alert on the station, standard procedure was to setup checkpoints and shut down all outbound and inbound crafts until the all clear was given. It seemed like Elysium was running the same play, but he had to be certain. He had to find Macha. He knew that it was her.

Anisa entered the designated room, allowing them to file in, before she turned to address his concerns. "A call was dispatched to the dock and I have sent a team down to do checks, Mr. Vakarian. I'm glad to see that you still have the officer in you. We need more people like that here."

Garrus nodded his head in acknowledgment. He knew that she already had their files prior to her meeting. Most likely, she was informed of their arrest upon their transport to the precinct. It was twenty minutes from the hotel and then another ten minutes before the officer met them. He glanced over at his companions with a slight crack in a smile. "Thirty-minute window."

Anisa moved to the row of video monitors and typed away at a terminal. "I have asked the hotel to transfer their surveillance feed over to me. Should take a minute for it to download, but this may give us some insight on the attacker and who to look for." Everyone stared at the dark screens in great anticipation, remaining silent. After a minute, the salarian frowned. Grumbling, she pulled up her omni tool. "This is Sergeant Anisa. Did you submit the feed?"

"_My apologies, mam_." A man came back through on the other end. "_There seems to be a malfunction in the feed. It seems that the footage we have for the time query was an overlap from the previous day. I-I don't know what caused this. I have notified our IT department_."

"When can you get this fixed?" Anisa sighed hard as she rubbed her temple with her other hand.

"_I-I'm not sure. They are working on it now. I will check back as soon as I know something_."

"I'll be calling back in ten minutes." The salarian ended the call.

Liara looked at her friends with a frown. "Charon sabotaged the feed."

"Clever bastards." Wrex commented.

"So, we have nothing?" Miranda sighed in exasperation. "Well, that's just great."

"Let me check on my other teams. Feel free to stay here. My apologies." Sergeant Anisa excused her from the room.

"Sitting here will be a waste. Stupid salarians." Wrex grumbled lowly.

"Shhh, Wrex." Liara shook her head quickly at him. "Keep your voice down."

Garrus glumly eyed his companions as he took a breath. It was time to tell them what he witnessed. "I…I saw the assassin."

"You did?" Miranda turned on her heel to look at him. "What did they look like? Male? Female?"

"Spirits…I pray that I'm wrong about this. It looked like Shepard."

Liara gasped as she held her fingertips to her mouth. "Sh-Shepard….? Goddess, no. You certain?"

"Different hair and eyes, but yeah, an exact match other than that." He thought back to the image of her in his scope. The last time he had her in her sights was on Omega. He remembered the determined look on her face as she pushed her way across the bridge to his hideout with the Blue Suns. Back then, he too, thought he was seeing something. As far as he knew, she died in the attack on the Normandy.

"Shepard?" Miranda scoffed at the clue. She moved away from the group to eye the monitors. "That can't be. Why would she?"

"Garrus, you certain about this?" The krogan asked his longtime friend. "Your turian old eyes not playing tricks on you, are they?"

The turian's lips smiled slightly by the jab. "If only that was the case…"

Liara's dark blue eyes stared at the floor as she tried to process what was disclosed. Despite her intel, nothing came across that Shepard was still alive, even after all these years, and the reports of Charon. Was it really her? Was it another clone like the one they fought on the Citadel years ago? "No body was discovered among the ruins of the Citadel on Earth." She reminded the group. "We should explore this further."

"The Citadel exploded. How could she survive that?" Miranda tossed out.

"Shepard could." Wrex chuckled. "She's tougher than a thresher maw. I knew she wasn't dead."

"We don't even know if that really is her, Wrex." Liara eyed the group. "We mustn't let this get out. If we tell anyone, then agencies will start to label her as one of them."

"Should we fan out and search the port?" Lawson asked.

Garrus shook his head slowly. "Don't bother. She's long gone."

T'Soni frowned by the statement. "Then we are back to square one."

Hours later, Raven met Erinyes at the debriefing room. The holo image of Elysium displayed in the center with Raven standing on the left side and Erinyes standing to Shepard's right. The woman before Raven was silent, which made her start their conversation. "The mission was a failure."

"I read your report." Erinyes' face was neutral. "Thank you for your promptness on that. There's another group shadowing us?"

"I'm not certain," Raven explained. "The turian stopped me. He and the others were moving to the hotel. No insignias and no chatter from local security that they were moving in on me."

"You said it was a turian, asari and a krogan along with Miranda Lawson?"

"Yes. She was following them and seemed to be working with them. By the turian's position point, he was ready for me. She was tipped off. You think she hired a private security group? Suns? Eclipse?" She tossed out names that came familiar to her. The Blue Suns were mostly noted for their security detail and still thrived after the Reaper War. The Eclipse were not a heavy player anymore, but still had pockets around. It wasn't uncommon for mercs to use an acid bath to remove tattoos from their skin to hide their affiliations during certain missions. The task was extra, and Miranda could well afford the expense.

"Maybe." Erinyes breathed hard through her nose as she stared at the planet. Miranda's death was taken away from her for now and she didn't like the idea that the traitor of Cerberus was free still to roam around while her father's corpse rotted. She already knew who Raven was talking about when she gave descriptions of the others that accompanied Miranda on Elysium. It was shocking to know that Shepard's team was still together. A fault of hers. She should have anticipated this. However, she was fortunate that Raven could not recall who they were, which meant the chip she implanted in her brain was functional. She had to be sure though. "You were not able to place their identities?"

Erinyes noted that Raven shook her head without any forced hesitation. "Not a clue."

"We will see what security footage we can obtain from the scene to confirm who they are. They may pose a threat to our future operations." Charon's leader remained calm and collective. She couldn't let any sign of relief show on her face to their investment. The idea of the old squad coming back into Raven's life was troubling, so she had to stay on top of this and it may be wise to not let her go out on missions alone. She couldn't let them take Raven and reveal her identity. She would not allow their interference once more like they did with her father's work. His legacy would go on. Charon would survive and thrive. It would be the glory of Cerberus before the Illusive Man took the daunting task on to revive Macha from the dead. That was his fatal mistake. "You are dismissed for now, Raven."

"What about Miranda?" Raven spoke up. She didn't like the notion of the woman who betrayed her to go free and cause potential harm to more allies. Anderson's murder still troubled her.

"I will keep my agents on her. Elysium like Omega will be on full lockdown now. Another attempt will be foolish on our part. Stand by for your new orders."

Raven saluted dutifully before she turned to exit the room. "Raven?" Erinyes called back to her.

"Yes, Erinyes?"

The woman didn't bother to look at her as she said, "My agent said you were late at the pickup. Your time was very disappointing."

Raven scowled for the reminder that she allowed the turian's presence to cause her delay. "It won't happen again."

Erinyes' gaze remained at the screen even after Raven left. The gentle hum of machinery in the room was the only sound besides her own breath. Her hands clasped behind her back. "Their interference almost cost me. I cannot allow any mistakes. It's time to take out the turian."


	7. Chapter 7

MASS EFFECT: WINTER EYES

CHAPTER 7: CHAOS

Three weeks later…

Her body tingled from the sensation of the soapy bubbles that touched her skin as Erinyes slowly sat down in the oversized garden tub in her quarters that evening. The room's lighting was dimmed to thirty percent and shadows danced on the walls from the candles' flames that flickered around the private bath. Sighing in pure ecstasy from the warming waters, Erinyes leaned her head back to slowly press it against the tub cushion behind her. It had been months since she divulged in simple pleasures such as a warm bubble bath, but it was the eve before a game changing event and she wanted to enjoy a trip down memory lane one more time. As a young girl, she remembered there was one private suite that her father gave her that had a garden tub like the one she was in currently, but smaller. It was the highlight of her living quarters. She would sit in the tub for at least an hour each night, using her imagination to think of unfamiliar places she wanted to travel to and wondering what her next place would be with her father. She never really knew her mother and her father would not talk to her about it. All she knew was that she died when she was too little to recall. The burden of raising her was placed on her father and he never once shied away from it. How she longed to those happier times in her life, when there wasn't so much discord in the world she lived in and her father was alive. Thinking about him made tears seep up from her eyes. Sighing hard, she wiped them away and suppressed the image of her father's smiling face from her memory core. Yet, the subject matter remained defiant in her mind. Months after living in her sanctuary, her father had to whisk her away to another location. He said that he was fearing for her safety. The aliens' influence was growing, and he was losing the support of his own species. His organization was now known as terrorists and the Alliance had put a target on them. More alien dangers were coming up such as mercs, hired assassins, and the Shadow Broker. He had to keep her closer to him and more secure.

Looking up at the ceiling, Erinyes danced her fingers around the water at her sides. "Dad, your legacy is disappearing, and it seems like the aliens are winning. Things will have to change now." With her mindset rapidly changing, Erinyes sat up in the tub, allowing the soapy foam to drip off her body back into the water as she looked up at the darkened screen on the other wall. "Jack, bring up Korlus." She called out to her AI program. Before his death, the Illusive Man created another AI to replace EDI called EVE. EDI reprogrammed EVE's body to be her own mobile vessel. She didn't know the purpose behind the name Eve, but she knew it had to have importance to her father. Similarly, she named their new AI "Jack", after her father. However, she made sure the shackles were in place.

"_Yes, Miss Erinyes_." AI replied in a warm tone male voice.

Seconds later, the planet Korlus displayed on the screen. To the right of the spherical planet showed details such as the planet's temperature, surface gravity, gas mixture, and population. Years ago, the planet was mainly used to recycle scrap metal. With the limited traffic, it made it a perfect wasteland for murderers, mercs and smugglers. The Council placed travel restrictions to the planet and so did Colonial Affairs. In a few years' time following the war, the krogan were expanding beyond Tuchanka. With their aid in the fight against the Reapers, they demanded planets to grow on and evoked the entitlement of the other races. In dismay, the Council obliged and Korlus was one of the planets given to the war-like reptile race. A small branch of Clan Urdnot went there, headed by Urdnot Bakara. Eventually, the settlement developed into three hundred krogan and housed a few sons of Urdnot Wrex. Erinyes' narrowed her eyes as she thought back to the Krogan's demands. She kept tabs on the live debates between the outspoken leader, Urdnot Wrex and the Council. The Council contained the same turian, salarian and asari, but a new human member was there. A politician from Earth, ex-Terra Firma party member. She privately backed him due to his previous allegiance to Terra Firma, who were known to be pro-human without the military backing like Cerberus. He managed to rally a large group of supporters after the war and used Earth's survival in his rallies. He pledged he would keep the focus on the humans, although, he was doomed like his predecessors in political offices: He could never keep his promises. Earth matters were shoved under the rug and alien matters seem to be the top priority of all cases to be heard on the Council's schedule. For a while, Erinyes contemplated the idea of killing Council Member Sorvel Gupta, but tabled it. The assassination would bring too much attention to Charon and she needed to keep her focus at the task at hand.

Urdnot Wrex was a trouble maker and an old friend and squadmate of Macha Shepard. With his influence, he convinced Shepard to cure the genophage. Erinyes knew that Shepard was foolish enough to believe that the krogan would just stay on Tuchanka. History always seem to repeat itself and with Shepard out of the way, Erinyes knew that Wrex saw this as an advantage and bullied his species' way back into the galaxy. The krogan numbers were thriving and tensions were becoming high. No one wanted to address it on the New Citadel. Ambassadors seem to dodge the subject altogether. No one wanted another Krogan Rebellion, but Erinyes knew if they were not careful, it would happen and this time, the other races would fall. She couldn't wait for the war to ignite by itself. By that time, no one would be ready. It was time to make the aliens fight amongst one another; they would wipe one another out and the humans would become the alpha species; just like her father wanted.

Eagerly, she stepped out of the tub and wiped her wet body off with a towel. "Jack, is the dreadnought ready?"

"_Yes, Erinyes. Final checks are in process_." The AI dutifully responded.

"Connect Operative Perez to my room monitor in five minutes."

"_Acknowledged_."

Slipping on her robe, she moved to her room. She would get dressed after the meeting. She couldn't wait to move forward with Operation Chaos. The name choice was not a description of what was soon to come, but a word from Greek mythology; fitting to their organization. Chaos was the void preceding the creation of the universe. The turmoil that would soon befall the aliens was the void and the outcome would be the creation of a new galaxy. A galaxy where finally humans would dominate, and the aliens would crawl on their knees like the vermin that they were. A galaxy that her father longed for. A galaxy safe for children to grow up in without the fear of batarian slave raids or turian pirates looking for a quick cred run.

The video display of Operative Perez was already on in her room when she entered. The man was of Hispanic descent with mahogany brown skin and coal black hair. He was in his late thirties, but his physical appearance, thanks for the future of cosmetology, made him appear to be a decade younger. Like many that joined Charon, he was ex-Alliance, but he was N7 just like Macha Shepard. The Illusive Man picked him because he killed a turian with his bare hands in combat. He couldn't stand the red tape and felt like Charon was his calling. His parents were killed when he was eleven due to slave runs and never felt safe since then. He vowed not to let that happen again. He was tasked in the previous year to select a team and find the vessel that she needed. This operation was years in the making. With a few good fighter crafts, they managed to hijack a turian dreadnought that was part of the Hierarchy's 7th fleet. It was on a scouting run near the rim of the Terminus; away from any ports and ripe for the picking. Charon was able to severe their lines of communications, so no distress signals could be sent and then disabled their engines. Once the ship was derelict, they boarded and killed the entire crew of a hundred but kept Admiral Vorious Procdos alive. They scrubbed the ship's identification protocol and gave it a false signature before dumping the dead turian corpses into the blackness of space and piloting the craft back to their sky base. They even gave a report to Turian Hierarchy to give the ship's last location to be a false one. The Turian Hierarchy could never find the ship and her missing crew.

Charon kept the admiral alive and tortured him daily until they finally managed to get him to crack and bend to their will. They needed him for Operation Chaos, at least his voice. He would be the voice of the Turian race. "Is the recording ready?" Erinyes asked the operative that was displayed in front of her.

"Yes. He attempted to sabotage the words, but a quick edit fixed it." Perez smiled wickedly with a twinkle in his dark eyes.

"And the admiral?"

The sure stance of the operative faltered some as anxiety plagued his face. "I thought you said once we got the recording, then he was no longer useful to us."

Erinyes smiled at him. "Just testing you. I'm sure you took pleasure in his demise." Perez was eight years her junior, but his hatred towards the aliens and his youthful appearance did allure her from to time. As much as her body yearned for him, she was wise enough not to get involved until her goal was complete.

"He did fight some." Perez grinned back. "Some admiral. I thought they were tougher than that."

"See to the final checks personally, Perez. Make sure that Jack tests the remote proximity and your fighter craft as well." She didn't like the idea of the need of one of their vessels going with the dreadnought to Korlus, but it was the only way to keep the remote connection on the large craft for steering without sacrificing one of her people onboard. She knew if she asked, there were many that would agree to the ultimate-sacrifice to Charon, but all were valuable to her. A stealth fighter would not be detected by ground control and Perez would keep his distance.

"Understood. ETA one hour." The display went offline.

Erinyes stood in her room, still robed, with her eyes fixed on the display monitor She allowed herself a long deep exhale. Raven would not be made aware of this. "It begins now."

Hagalaz, Shadow Broker Ship….

"Does the Shadow Broker even sleep? Are you a clone?" Garrus teased as he strolled into the open room of the ship that housed the multiple terminals and servers. A holo image of Elysium was displayed in the center of the room at the oversized table.

"Funny." Liara turned away from her work to greet her turian friend. "I'm afraid that if I close my eyes for an hour that- "

"You will miss something." Garrus finished for her as he shook his birdlike head. "Liara, you have Glyph, remember? I'm sure your assistant can notify you if your queries come back on Shepard."

The asari's dark blue eyes looked down at the floor as she found herself lost for words. "Are you even sure that it was her, Garrus?" She asked softly with despair. "It's been so long since..."

The turian gulped slowly. "It pains me even more to know that she's working for the enemy." He moved closer to the table to examine the holo image of the planet before him. "She has cheated death before…"

Liara smiled slightly. "With my help."

The turian's eyes panned over to the terminals behind her. "Any activity?"

"No." Liara shook her head. "That's what scares me. Their frequency has decreased since Elysium. I'm sure they know that we are onto them. We can't let them know about Shepard…we may risk losing her for good."

"Regrouping?" Garrus moved around the table towards the data that was displayed. "We can't allow them to go into hiding. We need to find some way to draw them out."

"How can we know that unless we know their next target?"

The room door's opening startled the pair and both heads turned to see Miranda walking in with Tali behind her. "We have a visitor," She announced with a smile.

"Never thought I would ever see this place again." Tali spoke through her helmet as she eyed the ship's exterior.

"I hope the ride here wasn't too bad." Liara moved to gently embrace her quarian friend.

Tali returned the hug. "Just a little bumpy. Keelah." She sighed with a soft chuckle. "I was stuck on a ship for most of my life and now it seems I'm going to be stuck on one again for a while." Her voice flattened, "How ironic."

"Just think of it as nostalgia." Garrus teased playfully to her. "The old crew coming back again."

"For a suicide run?" Miranda lifted her eyebrow at them.

"Where's Wrex?" Tali inquired as she looked around the room. "I thought you said he was here."

"He is." Liara answered for them. "He's in his quarters. I gave him access to his terminal, so he could check up on things on Tuchanka."

"From merc to diplomat…checking messages…" Garrus chuckled. "I thought I would never see the day."

Miranda's high heels clicked as she walked across the metal floor to view the monitors. "Anything yet, Liara?"

"No."

"You think they gave up?" Tali spoke up. Her voice shaken. "Should I warn my people on Rannoch?"

"They are targeting those connected with Shepard," Garrus reminded her calmly. "Your people should be safe, Tali. With the brutality of the murders, I don't think us being involved would deter them.

Miranda's eyes didn't waver away from the names of those killed so far. "They are hell bent that's for sure."

"You sure this place is safe, Liara?" Garrus asked. "I mean there are five of us here."

"Yes. I have taken all the necessary precautions."

"Then what are they waiting for…." The turian's voice trailed off as determination to figure out the mystery filled him.

Glyph hovered quickly into the room. "Doctor T'Soni. Urgent news from Council Space."

All heads turned to the spherical AI droid. Liara stepped forward to address it. "What is it, Glyph?"

"Garrus Vakarian!" Wrex's voice boomed at the back of the room where the door was. His thunderous entry startled everyone, and they took their attention away from the droid. The krogan's face was dark, his left arm was tense by his side with his fist clenched, while the other hand held his shotgun tightly. His red eyes appeared to be darker in tint and they were narrowed to deadly slits.

The sheer look of their friend brought the room to a deadly chill. Garrus tilted his head in confusion from Wrex's demeanor. "Uh, what is it, Wrex?" He asked.

Wrex hissed through his razor-sharp incisors as he lifted the barrel shotgun squarely at the turian. "You will be the first turian that I kill!"


	8. Chapter 8

MASS EFFECT: WINTER EYES

CHAPTER 8: KROGAN RETALIATION

Garrus didn't hesitate to get any words in before he dove to take cover behind the center table. Wrex squeezed the trigger of his shotgun and the rounds took out the terminal screen that was behind the turian's previous position. Shards of the screen shattered everywhere, and alarms began to ring within the ship. "Come out and face me, you coward!" Wrex roared in frustration of the missed shot. "I knew that you would backstab me in the end!"

Vakarian eyed his sniper rifle's location off to the side. It was propped up against the ship's wall of where he came in; closer to the furious krogan's position. Wrex noticed his glance around the table and followed his eyes, picking up on the cue. A wicked smile went across his lips, he turned the barrel of his weapon at the sniper rifle and fired. The impact shattered the prized gun into pieces. "Hah! Not this time, Vakarian." Wrex turned his attention back to his named foe.

Garrus groaned and pressed his back against the table again. He knew that his improvised cover would not really stand a shotgun assault. He had to think fast. "I really loved that gun." His heart was racing as he tried to think of some way out of this predicament. Going up against a krogan was never ideal, especially in close quarters. He eyed his friends who stood frozen from the crazed spectacle. "I really think we need to talk about this, Wrex!" He called out to his friend, his voice quivering from being in full panic mode.

"Keelah! Please, Wrex! Calm down!" Tali pleaded to her old squadmate, trying her best not to redirect his rage in her direction.

Wrex turned to address her plea. Seeing the opportunity of him letting his guard down slightly, Liara launched a biotic attack. The dark energy sphere knocked the shotgun out of the krogan's hand and slammed it into the ground thirty feet away. Liara stood in her position as dark energy swirled around her should another attack be warranted. Her body tensed up even more as the surprised krogan looked at her in emotional pain. The snap in him was very scary. The only time she noticed him to be dangerous was when they were on Virmire. Wrex learned that Saren was breeding krogan at the facility to find a way to cure the genophage. The salarian STG and Shepard determined that the facility was a threat, so its demise was essential. Wrex disagreed and squared up against the former commander. The genophage cure was a far cry for the krogan. They suffered for far too long. Guns were drawn and at one point it seemed that one of the two would be killed from the debate. Finally, Wrex lowered his weapon and agreed to Shepard's merits of her argument. The facility's research was not meant to help the krogan race and the krogan created were not true to his race. Whatever the trigger was this time, ignited a wildfire within their old friend and he had every intention then and there to kill Garrus. As she watched her other friend flee for his life, she wondered what could have Garrus done to provoke pure blood rage? Wrex looked at her as if she betrayed him as well. "That's how it's going to be, Liara? Hmm?" He disbanded the need for the shotgun and roared loudly as he charged at Garrus' location.

Hearing his thundering footsteps approaching, Garrus quickly stood up from his position and darted to the right to gain more distance. "Crap!"

Tali screamed as she watched him, not wanting to bring him down with her own weapon that she placed in her arms. "Wrex! Stop it!"

The furious krogan had no intentions in stopping his assault. He ignored the quarian's demand and turned to where Garrus went. A biotic stasis engulfed his body, grinding him to a halt, ten feet away from his prey. He strained to move and managed to turn his head to the left as much as he could to see Miranda glaring at him with her palm up hand facing his direction. Her body was swirling with a purple aurora from the dark energy build up. "That's far enough." She said.

His plight would not stop him. Wrex growled loudly and pushed with all his might against the biotic hold, his sheer strength broke free from the stasis within seconds. He activated his biotic implant and turned on the dark-haired woman. Using the dark energy, he managed to launch a push attack that caught Miranda Lawson off-guard. She slammed into the room's right wall, momentarily losing consciousness as her head made contact with the hard structure. A slight groan escaped her lips as her body collapsed to the floor. "Miranda!" Tali moved to check on her friend.

"Wrex, stop it!" Garrus growled at him as he clenched his fists. He knew it was risky to go up against the krogan unarmed, but he had to do something.

The leader of Clan Urdnot dared not to listen as he returned his focus on him. "I will when you are dead!"

Liara dashed to place herself between the waring pair. Her blue eyes glared hard at Wrex as her body continued to glow from the purple hue. "Wrex, stand down!" Liara hissed threateningly at him as she readied herself for another attack. "I'm an Asari Commando. You know what I'm capable of doing."

Seeing her pitting herself against him to protect Garrus seemed to hurt Wrex and he stopped in midstride. "Liara!" He gaped at her, becoming appalled at what side she was sticking to. "This doesn't concern you! Don't make me- "

"Garrus is our friend, Wrex!" She held her stance, not moving her eyes away from him to check on the turian behind her. She prayed to the goddess that he didn't dare do anything foolish. It seemed now that she had Wrex's devoted attention. "You need to tell us what is going on. Why are you attacking him?!"

"The question of the hour…" Garrus muttered under his breath.

"Why don't you ask him why his kind murdered Bakara and half of my brood along with three hundred other krogan?!" Wrex boomed back.

The news shocked the entire room's occupants. All stared at him with blank stares. Liara's posture flinched. Her eyes and mouth became wider. "What…. I…how can that…Glyph?!"

The spherical droid hovered closer to them. "Dr. T'Soni. Urdnot Wrex is correct in his statement. The report that came in for you addressed an attack on the krogan settlement on Korlus."

Wrex pulled up his omni tool to retrieve the message that he received minutes before the attack in their room. "A message was captured minutes before the settlement went silent. A turian dreadnought was detected just outside the planet's atmosphere."

"Spirits…." Garrus' mandible twitched slightly as he listened in, trying to process the reasoning behind his species' abrupt attack. After the Reaper War, he was placed as one of the top military advisors to the new Primarch. If there was any movement with their navy, then he would be the first to know. How did this one slip by?

"Message?" Liara quizzically looked at Wrex. "What message?"

Wrex brooded as he tapped his omni to open the communication he received. "This was communication that was captured directly from the dreadnought," His red eyes stared hard back at Garrus. "The _turian_ dreadnought," He emphasized angrily.

"_This is Admiral Vorious Procdos of the 7__th__fleet. Cease and desist any hostile aggression_."

"Aggression?" Miranda spoke up as she listened in.

"I should have seen this coming. The krogan have earned the respect of the other races! We have saved your asses from the rachni and the reapers! The turians don't like the idea of us settling outside of Tuchanka…they fear us. They will do more than fear us now!" Wrex fumed.

"Wrex…I…I'm sorry for the loss of Bakara and your children…I can't even imagi- "Liara softly said as she released the hold of the dark energy and reached out to gently touch his arm to console him.

The krogan retracted coldly from her quickly. "Don't bother. I don't need the sympathy of an asari."

His comment came off jagged like from a serrated blade. She blinked at him in hurt. "What about a friend?" He ignored her question.

"Wait…Admiral Procdos?" Garrus piped up as he finally remembered hearing that name before.

"You recognize him, Garrus?" Tali walked over to join the team.

"Good. Lead him to me so I can pull his spine right after of his body." Wrex seethed.

"Admiral Procdos of the 7th fleet went missing a few years back including his entire crew on the outer rim. He was sent on a scouting mission to check on the gang activity in the Terminus. We had information coming in that the Eclipse were vamping up their artillery and were planning on striking several turian colonies. Weeks later, the dreadnought went missing and nothing found on the Eclipse in that sector. We assumed it was a well-orchestrated pirate attack." A beat. "What if he went rogue…" Vakarian' s voice faded out as his mind raced to find the answer behind the surprise deadly attack on Korlus. "I never met him on Palaven…but nothing came through on his psych profile." Another breath as he turned to face his friend. "I'll admit that a lot of turians were not happy with the Primarch's decision to agree to the cure of the genophage. They still respected his decision and I can't believe there would be a splinter cell from the Hierarchy to change things now. I need to contact the Primarch." He moved towards the terminal to motion for Liara's aid to assist him on it.

"I trust you, Garrus." Wrex admitted. "I don't trust the rest of your kind. I'm going back to Tuchanka." He turned to head back out of the room to where the shuttle was, scooping up his shotgun along the way.

"Wrex," Liara called after him as she quickened her step to catch up to him. "Please don't do anything rash. We need to talk to the Primarch and see what he knows first. Garrus is right."

Wrex glanced slightly at her but continued his pace. "Talking is over with, Liara. Baraka and my children died today. I won't let the turians decide our fate again."

"You can't go to war with the turians, Wrex." Tali hurried over to join up with them.

"Try and stop me." Wrex countered threateningly as he swatted Liara away with his arm.

Defeated, Liara and Tali moved back to the main room. The asari moved purposefully towards her droid. "Glyph, bring up the schematics for the settlement on Korlus." Seconds later, the holo image of the colony displayed at the center table.

"Defense canons were in place. They should have neutralized the dreadnought." Garrus pointed out.

"If they were online." Miranda countered as she held her throbbing head.

"Why wouldn't they be?" Tali questioned the ex-Cerberus operative.

"I'm sure the Turian navy would have known what type of defenses that the colony had prior to the attack."

"If it was the Turian Navy," Garrus interjected cautiously. He didn't like the idea that his government was quick to be blamed. Not like he could judge the others. Things didn't look too well for them and him. He couldn't blame Wrex for his reaction. It wasn't like it was the first time that the krogan were betrayed by the turians. He just couldn't see the Primarch signing off on this. He was opposed to Shepard's idea for a truce between the two races and the cure for the genophage when she went up against the reapers. However, he knew that they didn't have a choice. Despite his feelings, he was honorable and wouldn't go against his word. Did admiral Procdos go rogue? Did he have help? How far did the betrayal go? Up the military chain? Were the salarians once again in on this? He didn't want to place blame until he knew for sure, but the amphibious looking race were experts in surveillance and espionage. They could have easily infiltrated the colony and gained knowledge to send to Procdos. All in all, it was bad timing. It seemed that just like the geth and quarians, the turians and krogan picked the wrong time to reopen an old festering wound.

"We need to beat the krogan there. Wrex probably called ships there to find out what happened. Glyph, send two operatives to send intel back to me." Liara instructed her assistant.

"At once, Dr. T'Soni." The droid processed the request.

"What a damn mess," Miranda sighed as she ran her fingers through the top of her head. "What do we do now?"

"Looks like I may have two targets now on my back." Garrus grumbled lightheartedly. "Not a good day to be a turian. Now I know how Shepard must have felt when the relay destroyed the Bahak System." His mention of her name made his heart sink. He was so close to finding her and now it seemed like their current mission would be pushed aside. Macha struggled to maintain peace between the krogan and the turians during the reaper war. She achieved the impossible. Without her, would an alliance even stand? He had his doubts during the war, but they were fizzling as the years dragged on afterwards. The notion of true peace was indeed in fact a farce.

"What would Shepard do?" Tali asked sadly. "I wish she was here. She always knew how to deal with problems."

"We can't handle this matter alone. We need the council involved." Liara stated matter-of-factly. "I will go to the New Citadel and request an audience with them. Glyph, please send an urgent message to their secretary. Advise that I need to speak with them as soon as I arrive."

"At once, Dr. T'Soni."

"I will go with you, Liara." Tali spoke up. "You will have the backing of the quarians. We still have our ships of the Migrant Fleet outside of Rannoch."

"Thank you, Tali. I hope it doesn't come to that. Any aid that we give to the turians may show our support for their side. We must handle this delicately. Hopefully, the wisdom of the Council will help."

"If they even help at all," Miranda scoffed. "Shepard had a time dealing with them. Without a krogan council member, you really think that they will not back the turians?"

"We need to be ahead of this." Liara moved towards her own quarters to grab her things. "The krogan will start retaliations and then it will be too late."

"I'll meet you at the shuttle," Tali raced to her own room.

Miranda sighed and moved towards her own room. "I'm coming too!"

"Hmm…" Garrus glanced around the now empty room. "I'll radio the Primarch and see about getting a transport to Palaven." He eyed the droid still hovering in place. "Uh, Glyph. Can you contact the Primarch on Palaven?"

"At once, Archangel." The droid replied. "Will make contact attempt now."

"Archangel?" Garrus lifted an eye ridge. He saw Liara walking back in with her crossbody satchel. "You know your droid still calls me 'Archangel.'"

"Programming glitch. Sorry," Liara moved to set her security protocols in place during her absence.

"Right." He moved his blue eyes to the remains of his sniper rifle. "I can't believe he blew it up."

"You know there's only shuttle left." The asari pointed out.

"I guess I can tag along for now. I need to buy a new gun."

"That would be comforting." Liara smiled at him warmly. "I would feel better getting through New Citadel security with you there."

"Why?" Garrus chuckled as he followed her out with the droid in tow. "You really think they would care to what an ex-C-Sec officer would say. I wasn't really liked there."

"_Garrus Vakarian. It is a pleasure speaking with you again_." The familiar voice of the Primarch came through Glyph's internal speakers. "_You aware of the news flash?"_

"The reason for my call. You have one very angry Urdnot Wrex heading back to Tuchanka."

"_I have scout ships heading to Korlus now_," Victus informed him. "_I need to find out what the hell went wrong and why a missing dreadnought suddenly reappeared at the wrong place_."

"You think Procdos acted on his own?"

"Hardly. The admiral was well respected and never questioned our alliance with the krogan."

"I heard the recording that Wrex played though, sir."

"Perhaps the colony was firing on him." The Primarch suggested.

"Well, whatever, happened, it doesn't look good for us. Three hundred killed including half of Wrex's children."

"We are on the brink of war now, Garrus. How soon can you get to Palaven?"

Garrus paused in his steps to eye Liara carefully. "I will need a transport pick up at the New Citadel. I can be there in two days."

"I will make arrangements for it now. See you when you get here, Garrus." The line disconnected once the Primarch was done talking.

Garrus frowned at Liara as they entered the shuttle. "That was…uplifting."

"If the turians and the krogan both get at Korlus at same time…" Liara shook her head sadly as she sat down behind the controls to do the take-off checks.

"Then it won't be a pleasant reunion." Vakarian glumly took the seat next to her while they waited on Miranda and Tali. "We need to tell Wrex to halt the search party until the turians are gone."

"Good luck on telling him that. After all, it was his colony that was hit."

"And his children…" Garrus sighed heavily in exasperation. "Why would Procdos do this?"

"It was his voice we heard. You confirmed it," Liara mentioned. She stopped in her task to see Tali and Miranda coming onboard with their packs in hand.

"Coming too, Garrus?" The quarian's voice perked up seeing him there beside Liara.

"For now, the Primarch will pick me up at the New Citadel."

"Maybe Charon can wait for now." Miranda sarcastically said as she sat down in a seat in the passenger hold of the shuttle.

"If only." Liara strapped herself in.

"Erinyes, here's the intercepted message from Turian High Command." One of Erinyes' assistants handed the datapad to her as the leader of Charon was sitting behind her desk. Chatter would spark up once the hit was done on Korlus. She already had her people on it, hacking into transmissions to see what kind of movement was going on.

"Origin?" Erinyes asked the young woman in front of her before glancing down at the transcript.

"Unknown. None of our hackers could detect it. The address was pinging off various comm buoys."

Erinyes frowned. The transcript displayed the conversation that Garrus had with the Primarch. A smirk spread across her lips as she read further. She raised her head to look back at her assistant. "Contact our agents on the New Citadel. Tell them to tap into C-Sec and notify me once Garrus Vakarian and the envoy from Palaven land."

"Yes, mam." The assistant scurried off quickly in her heels to carry out the demand.

Erinyes waited a few moments before using her comm to contact her intelligence team captain. "Operative Briggs. Come in."

"_Yes, mam_." A deep male voice came through seconds later punctually.

"Transmissions from Tuchanka?"

"_Will be sending to your terminal now. Urdnot Wrex is heading that way. There is chatter about war with the turians_."

The smile on Erinyes' face grew. "Exactly what I wanted to hear." She disconnected the call. "Just like the Ouroboros. It's time for the snake to consume its tail. To recreate life, there must be death."


	9. Chapter 9

MASS EFFECT: WINTER EYES

CHAPTER 9: QUERY

The surveillance area of her operation was bustling with transmission chatter. Each desk was manned by a human and each one had tapped into a transmission. The entire area blossomed after the attack on Korlus. Erinyes was ready and made sure that every station had a body filling its chair throughout the daily cycle. The one that Erinyes was homed in on was Palaven. Three of her employees sat around the station, one tapped into the government, one into the military and one picking up any other of the planet's communications. With her arms crossed, she stood silently and listened, watching her operatives' reactions as they typed away at their terminals to transcribe the conversations. Their identification tool could pick up on key individuals, so they exactly knew who was talking. She was watching the war coming to a head from the sidelines. The young red head woman sitting at the government listening seat, flagged Erinyes with a few quiet snaps of her fingers. Moving over, Erinyes picked up the headset and listened in as the operative replayed the communication over after its capture. Her eyes narrowed. "Garrus Vakarian…" The name dripped off her lips like acid; acidic to the touch. With all the information she dug up on Macha Shepard, that name stuck out like a painful memory. Ex C-Sec officer that joined up with Shepard on the Citadel during her investigation into Saren. He remained on her team since then and even helped in her fight against the Illusive Man. Hatred consumed her against all that were part of Shepard's allies, but Vakarian earned a special place. He developed a relationship with Macha and this went against everything that Erinyes stood for. The idea of being physical and even loving an alien was poisonous like cobra venom. It was destroying humanity and continuing alien dominance. If it continued to plague their kind, then eventually mankind would be erased from its very existence. A notion that Erinyes vowed not to allow to become a reality.

From the recording, Garrus was planning on meeting up with a Palaven transport at the New Citadel to head back to his homeworld to discuss options against the krogan. She was hoping that the attack on Korlus would divide Shepard's team and pit themselves against one another and look away from Charon. They were becoming too close to her operations and she enjoyed destroying them one by one when they least expected it. When news broke that Urdnot Wrex was heading back to Tuchanka and that there was now an open war, she seemed to think that everything was going according to plan. However, by his words, Garrus didn't resent the krogan's action and in fact, was trying to find a way to extinguish the flame that was burning. Peace was not an option to her. With him being an old friend of Wrex, she feared that the outspoken leader would eventually listen and back down. She wasn't about to stand back and let that happen. She needed to remove the cancer before it spread and then work on more outlining fires to keep the rage going. After all, Garrus was on her list and was next. Poetically, she wanted Raven to be the one to end him. Sending her to New Citadel was risky with the security in place, but the turian's action forced her hand. Moving to the console, she summoned her operative. "Raven?"

Seconds later, an answer came back. "_Yes?_" Raven's breath was up. Erinyes figured that she was down in their gym. The woman had a strict routine of working out daily. A trait that she admired. Discipline was essential to Charon's survival.

"I wanted to go over your assignment. Meet me in the Operations Center."

"_On it_."

Ten minutes later, Erinyes reached the center and surprisingly, Raven was already there waiting for her. She managed to grab a hot shower and change into her normal attire. Erinyes smiled at her appearance; the former commander was punctual too. "I know you are itching to stretch your legs, Raven." Erinyes greeted her as she moved towards the console to bring up the schematics on the New Citadel. She also brought up another holo projector in the center to display a front image of Garrus Vakarian.

"That's him." Raven gasped as she recognized the turian being displayed in front of her.

"His name is Garrus Vakarian. We were able to find feeds of him on Elysium during the mission. I didn't want to say anything until I was sure." Erinyes explained as she held her arms behind her back in a military posture.

"You knew who he was?" Raven looked her way. "Why didn't you tell me?"

"Like I said," Erinyes started slowly. "I wanted to be sure. He's an ex C-Sec officer and was planted on the Citadel to spy on Anderson whenever he visited the station."

"Spy? For who?"

"The Turian Hierarchy. He served in their military and still had connections to them. They knew you were Anderson's protégé. Captain Anderson wanted to enlist you as a possible candidate to become a Spectre."

"A Spectre?" The news shocked Raven as she listened intently. She thought back to her days being on the Normandy with her former superior officer. He was tough on her, but fair. Just like she expected him to be. She led many test missions, but never grasped at the concept that he was grooming her to becoming something better. The memories of him pained her. "Anderson…" She hung her head in silent memorial.

"The Turian military dominate the list of candidates for the program. In fact, they have pushed back against humanity on the Citadel even when we had our human ambassador in place. They don't like us growing and our influence. The sheer idea of a human selection is an insult to them. With Anderson now out of the picture, the Turians continue their hold on Council security. Eight-Five percent of the C-Sec force are turian compared to the prior force of being sixty. "

"I thought we have a human Councilor." Raven brought up.

"We do. He's a placeholder only. No real power." Erinyes paused to reel herself in. She couldn't let her own emotions drive the conversation. She had to return to the task at hand: The elimination of Garrus Vakarian. After all, if he blew the whistle on Raven's identity, it could jeopardize Charon's hold on her. "We captured a transmission from Palaven. They are requesting Garrus' presence immediately and meeting up with him on the New Citadel."

"For what purpose?"

Erinyes fought back the urge to smile. "The krogan and turians are fighting amongst one another again. Reports came in that a turian dreadnought attacked the krogan colony on Korlus, leveling it and claiming the lives of all the colonists."

"Why?"

"They fear the krogan expansion. They always have. Before your murder attempt, the krogan rapidly bred and expanded to various colonies. They fought all who opposed and used other's resources. The other races banded together and created a genophage. This reduced the krogan's numbers drastically by making them all sterile. Eventually, the krogan moved back to Tuchanka and were kept in control. I fear that the krogan have found a way..." Another pause. "They found a way to beat the genophage' s sterility and are rapidly breeding. Urdnot Wrex's encouragement has caused their expansion once again. They have not attacked any human colonies, but if we are not careful, it will be as bloody as our entanglement with the batarians.

Raven narrowed her eyes as she picked up on the four-eyed species' name. "I remember them. Dealt with them a lot as an Alliance officer. Many of the colonists fell prey to their slavery."

"The krogan don't have a slave trade, Shepard. With their lust for war, they will bleed anyone who comes in their way."

"What does Garrus have to do with this?"

Erinyes switched the holo image of Garrus off and moved around the center table, allowing her left-hand fingertips to glide softy over the smooth surface of the edge. The bait was working, and it was time to hook. "The turians have despised the humans for years. I fear they will drag us into this mess, their mess. Garrus has a lot of information of key figures that held great interest. He has a keen mind and with his knowledge of your failed attempt…" She allowed a breath to let Raven chew on the reminder of her failure once again. "There is no other reason why they have called him back to Palaven."

"Okay, I get it. Where is he?"

"On the way to the New Citadel," Erinyes touched the interactive holo image of the ship's hangar bay and zoomed in. "He will be meeting with his transport there. If he makes it back to Palaven- "

"Then we are in this shit." Raven sighed as she finished the sentence.

"Exactly." Erinyes turned off the holo. "He is already on his way. His previous location was unknown, so I need you to leave within the hour to make the intercept." She thought back to the transmission. The origin of the call to Palaven was not traceable. Not even her best hackers could track him down. Impressive to her. How much help did the turian have? Who else was in on this with him?

"I should go." Raven moved to the door.

"You will be in close quarters on this one. How is your hand to hand combat skills?"

"I took out two fighters during the last sparring round." Raven noted.

"There will be no room for error, Raven." Erinyes reminded firmly. "Not this time. If Charon is exposed…"

"It won't."

"Meet up at Amaranthine once the mission is complete. A shuttle will be waiting for you."

With purposeful steps, Raven Shepard entered her quarters and grabbed the duffle bag off her bed, throwing in a few extra pieces of clothing should her mission keep her away longer than intended. Satisfied, she zipped up the bag and moved to grab her weapons, eying her display of weapons carefully. Turians were tough to go up against one on one. Most carried knives on them and had more flexibility than normal humans. Long range weapons were out of the picture. She picked up her M-5 Phalanx, inspecting it and then grabbing a few cartridges. The blade on her omni would be a great weapon to go up against the turian but walking into any fight without some type of firepower was suicide. Grabbing her gear was second nature to her so her mind idled and Garrus' face come back into full view. How come his memory gnawed at her?

Setting gear back on her bed, she moved over to the terminal and quickly logged in. The internal database came up and she typed in her query's name. Seconds later, the top articles were displayed. Her lavender eyes scanned over the finds to come across nothing different than what was already disclosed to her by Erinyes. "This doesn't make any sense." Raven sighed as she shoved herself back away from the station. She tried to think on any previous encounters she had with him. As far as she could remember, she only visited the Citadel one time with Anderson when he went there for an initial briefing on a mission. A turian by the name of Nihlus Kryik met them and hands shook in greeting and trust. That's as far as she could think of. No encounters with Garrus Vakarian. The more she thought on this, the more her head began to ache. Holding her throbbing head, Raven moved away and grabbed her gear in defeat. It was time to go.

"_Erinyes_," Jack called out to Erinyes from within her own room.

"_Yes, Jack_?" Erinyes paused in her article read at her desk to answer her AI.

"_You requested that I bring to your attention of any activity logged on Raven's terminal_."

The reminder peeked her interest. She tensed up. "Go ahead."

"_A query for Garrus Vakarian was established_."

"The results?"

"_The articles you tagged for this query were displayed to Raven_."

Erinyes relaxed in her seat. She anticipated this. Like chess, she had to anticipate her opponent's next move and never assume anything. Any fool would fully trust the chip's design, but not her. Technology always had glitches and glitches were cracks in the foundation. Flaws. Flaws that could level the stronghold. "Thank you, Jack." It still disturbed her that Raven had interest in Garrus. Was she simply gathering more intel about her target? Or was it something else? She silently debated if she should carry out the mission or not. Things were already in motion and any delay could jeopardize the survival of Charon. She would make note to have the techs check Raven's chip upon her return. All the scans would take hours and she didn't have that kind of time now. Visualizing the turian's death made hot tears stream down her face as her eyes gazed upon the layout of her room. Her breath increased as she thought back to all the struggles her father had against Shepard and her team. The ultimate sacrifice he made to make sure that humanity lived; to make sure she lived. "I will avenge you, father. I will continue the war between the krogan and the turians. The other alien races will have no choice but to take sides. Humanity will stay out of it. I will make sure of it. Once they fall, we will be the only ones left in the galaxy. The way it should be."


	10. Chapter 10

MASS EFFECT: WINTER EYES

CHAPTER 10: YOU FIGHT ME

Raven stood off to the side of the docking area of the New Citadel ship. She was dressed in a C-Sec uniform which hid her Charon tattoo. Her name was dyed to a deep purple and placed up in a ponytail. Her identification badge showed her to be "Officer Celeste Adams." A valid form that granted her easy access throughout the ship if needed. She appeared to be standing there, working her normal daily beat. She managed to get on the station a few hours ahead of schedule. This gave her enough time to get settled in. Charon hackers tapped into C-Sec's files to create her a fake profile should someone else scan her card for verification. A perfect ploy for her current mission. The transport ship from Palaven docked ten minutes ago and she waited to address them while they were finished being cleared by Citadel Control. It was standard protocol that an officer at the dock check in the ship and scan their manifest. No one would think twice.

A dark toned turian baring no facial markings, dressed in formal attire walked down the ramp from the ship to greet her as she approached. "Good evening, sir." She said. She hoped this conversation would be quick and smoothly. She needed to get onboard and remain there until her query arrived. "You have your manifest?"

The turian obliged by handing her a datapad. "Pickup only. VIT for High Command." He bluntly said. He seemed perturbed by the check-in. "Has Garrus Vakarian arrived?"

"I will check for you. I need to finish this first." She glanced up at the ship. "You the only passenger so far?"

He shook his head. "Pilot is onboard."

"And who is the turian you are waiting on?"

"Garrus Vakarian. Did he arrive? It's urgent that we get back to Palaven, Officer." He took the datapad back from her.

"Easy." She glared at him as she pretended to check her omni on his request. "Not yet." She had to get this guy away just long enough to get her on the ship without detection. "The emissary check-in is down at the entrance. You would need to place the acquisition there. Once he arrives, they will flag him for you."

The turian grunted in frustration as he muttered under his breath and moved past her to his now determined destination. The check-in counter was well out of sight and it would give her enough time to get onboard. She watched him disappear in the crowd before she glanced back at the ship. She debated on taking out the pilot then and there. If she did, then it could spark suspicion if there was communication with the ship without answer. For now, he had to remain alive. The manifest download revealed the ship's layout to her. The representative was not lying when he said that they were not carrying anything else. Smuggling was still notorious after the war. The cargo area of the ship was far away from prying eyes to where she could seek refuge until her target was there. No one would walk by and she would have the element of surprise. A path on the ship would give her access without being seen by the pilot. That's if he remained in his seat. She had to take that chance. Making sure that no one was really looking her way, she quietly stepped inside, her hand remained on the butt of her pistol. Her breath quickened as she anticipated an incursion with the pilot. She could hear him down the hall, still in the cockpit, doing landing checks. There was no notification that he was onto her. Keeping her ears out for any change, she made her way to the cargo hold. Once inside the desired room, she crouched behind some crates of supplies and checked her ammunition. She tapped ear piece to check in on communications from C-Sec Control. Now she had to remain there and wait.

Hour later…

A white face female C-Sec turian with light blue facial paint on the crest of the fringe greeted Liara and the others after they exited their ship on the New Citadel. "You must be Dr. Liara T'Soni."

"Yes. I have Miranda Lawson, Tali Zorah vas Rannoch, and Garrus Vakarian with me."

"I am Captain Destitana Kandros. I am here to personally escort you to Councilor Sparatus' office."

"Excuse me, Captain. I am not going with my friend. Palaven has sent a transport for me." Garrus quickly interjected before the group moved.

"Yes, I did get a message about that. Your ship should be in the Argos Quadrant Sector."

"Thank you."

Liara looked over at her friend. "Please be careful, Garrus." Worry flooded her words.

"I'll be fine. This place is still not safe." He reminded her.

"It's been years since I have visited the ship." Miranda observed as she looked around. "I never thought the old station to be safe."

"I know my way around. I'll protect them." Tali reassured Garrus.

"I'm counting on that, Tali." A disheveled smile appeared on Vakarian' s face before he turned to head to his new designation.

"Shall we proceed?" Kandros called to the group.

"Yes. Right." Liara quickened her steps to catch up to their guide. It felt odd not seeing Bailey there to show them around, but his life was lost among the rest of the habitants when the Reapers took over the station. Luckily for the Council, they decided to move back to the Destiny Ascension after Cerberus' failed coup. If they chose to remain there, they would have been one of the lost as well. The name caught Liara's attention and she struggled for the placement. "Kandros? I have heard that before."

"Probably from all the wrong people." Destitana didn't look back at her as she walked through the security checkpoints to the elevator. "My family name was tainted when my cousin Nyreen, decided to become a pirate on Omega. I was proud of my brother's achievements, but then he decided to join the Andromeda Initiative. He left with the arks before the Reapers struck." She shook her head. "All foolishness."

"I heard of the Andromeda Initiative." Liara replied, deciding not to disclose her personal connection with one of its leads, Alec Ryder. "It is…very ambitious."

"Stupid." She shot back angrily. "I barely got off Palaven when the Reapers attacked. Many of my friends and family were slaughtered. Where did my brother go? Off to go hide in another galaxy while my cousin didn't show her face."

"Shepard met your cousin on Omega." Miranda spoke up with a hint of anger in her voice. "Her report said that Nyreen died while trying to protect some of its citizens from the adjutants."

The captain stopped suddenly and turned on the balls of her feet to look at them quizzically. Her mandible twitching as she processed the obvious unknown news. "Adjutants?"

"Creatures created by Cerberus. They attacked Omega and infected many of its citizens. Cerberus unleashed them. Hundreds died." Liara continued.

"She died?"

"Yes. I'm sorry to bring this up at the wrong time."

"At least she died honorably." Destitana pivoted back around to continue. "I'm glad that you got here when you did. The krogan ambassador is up the Council's ass and she refuses to back down. Particularly Sparatus'. I think she wants him to personally apologize for what has happened and pay reparations.

"Like what?" Miranda scoffed.

Kandros stopped at the elevator that would lead them to the embassy level. She looked back to them once more. "She wants Palaven."

"Palaven?" Tali gasped through her helmet.

"Wrex would never ask for that." Liara shook her head.

"I know it sounds absurd. She alleges that the krogan are being punished for an unknown crime and that they deserve more territory. A whole planet to be exact. They want the turians to suffer like they did and take their homeworld away."

"I will talk to Wrex. He can make her calm down." Liara assured her.

"I don't know, Liara." Miranda reminded her. "Wrex was pretty pissed."

"If you make any sense to the krogan, please do. The turian fleets are mobilizing." Kandros led them into the elevator once the doors opened.

"This place doesn't feel the same. It's not as homey as it was when I first came here with wanting to speak with Saren." Tali commented sadly inside.

"I know. I miss the old faces like Dr. Michel and Captain Bailey."

"And even…" Tali chuckled light-heartedly. "Conrad Verner. He was such a bosh'tet."

The doors to the elevator opened seconds later to reveal the embassy level. "At least the elevators go faster now." Liara noted out loud as she followed the others out.

Kandros groaned lightly when she saw the krogan ambassador Weyrloc Pandok outside the Councilor's office. "Spirits help me…"

The female krogan looked their way suspiciously. She was dressed in traditional female garb with colors mixture of green and deep red. "I have been waiting for over an hour." Her reptilian eyes glanced at Liara and the others. "Who are they?"

"Easy now. They are friends." A familiar male voice called over to her from the right.

A troubled turian greeted Garrus at the transport when he arrived. "What's the matter?" Garrus asked.

"When we arrived, a C-Sec officer told me to go to the check-in to look for you. When I walked all the way down there, they told me that I didn't have to do that. You would think with turian leadership, the officers would be better trained than that."

"C-Sec will never change," Garrus chuckled.

"Making final preps now, sir." The pilot called out to them from his location.

Garrus looked back at the ship's door sadly. He debated silently if this was the wise move right now. He knew that the krogan were on their doorstep, but he didn't like leaving his friends. What if Charon was coming after them? How much security would they have at the Citadel? Tali was lucky that Dr. Chakwas saved her life. He never thought he would have another war with the krogan in his lifetime. Not when Shepard cured the genophage and Wrex seemed to be their voice. The krogan leader now snapped and he had every right to. What was going on? It all felt like a nightmare. He sat back in his seat and listened to the others talk amongst themselves in the front. Closing his eyes, he tried to get some shut eye before they reached Palaven. He didn't know how much of actual sleep he would get after his arrival.

Kaidan Alenko approached the group, dressed in blue armor. A thin layer of stubble black hair outlined the sides of his face, around his mouth and chin. Pandok turned on him quickly from his interference. "The krogan will not stand for this, Spectre!" She hissed threateningly.

"With all due respect, ambassador, you need to calm down. I will use force if needed." He sternly reminded her, flashing his assault rifle.

She laughed. "I will kill you with my bare hands if needed, human."

"Easy!" Destitana rushed ahead to grab their attention. "We need a few more minutes, Ambassador Pandok, and then we can go on with the hearing of your petition."

"It's not a petition. It's a demand." The krogan barked.

"We will make it quick. I promise." Liara spoke up.

The female eyed her carefully and then bared her teeth. "I will be awaiting outside the chambers and I expect you to be there in ten minutes."

"Fine." Kandros agreed quickly to ease the tension. She then turned to look at Alenko. "Spectre, you have things under control here?"

"Yes."

The captain then nodded her head. "The Councilor is inside. Please take only ten minutes. I have a ship to run and I can't deal with this all day." She hurried her steps back towards the elevators.

Alenko grimly smiled to the team. "Hey, gang. Surprised to see you here. Didn't realize that Spectre was debunked to guard duty."

"It's always good to see you, Kaidan. It's been too long." Tali broke free from the group to hug their old friend. "You look well."

"Yeah?" He chuckled as he rubbed his stubs. "I know my appearance is not as tidy as it once was. I guess sometimes away from strict Alliance life makes you laxed."

"Glad you didn't give up the Spectre life despite what happened with Udina." Liara smiled at him. "Macha would have been proud."

"Yeah. I bet she would be. I miss her." He frowned. "This place is not the same without her." He noticed Liara cringing up at his words. He cocked his eyebrow at her. "What is it?"

"Remind me to talk to you when we are done. I can't keep the ambassador waiting." She moved inside the office with the others in tow.

Sparatus stood up quickly from his desk at their arrival. His gaze upon them was in confusion as if he was hoping there would be more there. "Where is Garrus Vakarian? C-Sec flagged him on your vessel as well."

"Garrus was called to Palaven as soon as we landed."

"I would like to have him here for this meeting." Sparatus sighed as he sat back down. "I'm out here in the dark. There has been no word yet. At least if he was here, then- "

"You would have a turian perspective?" Miranda cut him off sharply. She seemed to be irk to the idea that he didn't want to talk to them. "Maybe, that's your damn problem."

"I have an angry krogan at my door night and day, Miss- "

"Miranda Lawson."

"Ah, yes, one of Shepard's people. I wish Shepard was alive to control the krogan. She surpassed my expectations when we went up against the Reapers. I never thought I would see the day of us working with the krogan."

"And without them on Palaven, many more would have perished." She reminded him.

The councilor hung his head sadly. "The numbers were still staggering."

"You should have listened to Shepard in the beginning!" Tali snapped.

"We're not here to place blame on the past!" Liara broke in to remind them of their true purpose. "Councilor, we have a very angry, heartbroken friend right now."

"I heard what happened on Korlus." Sparatus stood back up to look around his closed-up office. Their old offices had large open windows that showed the exceptional scenery of the Presidiums. These lacked that kind of luster. They were a third of the size and no windows at all, just metal walls. "The turian navy denies any involvement in the attack. The krogan need to back down until we can complete this investigation."

"I don't think it will be that easy…" Tali wrung her hands nervously. "Wrex seemed very convinced that the admiral had orders from the top."

"That ship was missing for quite some time. They marked it off as a tragic lost. The admiral never would have turned like that. It just doesn't make any sense."

"Did your scouts find anything?" Liara asked.

"The ship's remains were found on the planet's surface. Thousands of pieces. We couldn't land to inspect further due to krogan fighters entering the sector. It was presumed that their planetary defense systems brought the ship down. If there were survivors, we couldn't find any with the life scans from orbit and the krogan are not talking about it."

"And you're certain it's the same missing dreadnought?"

"Without a doubt. I don't know where she has been all this time, but it's her."

"This doesn't make any sense." Alenko joined the conversation as he approached from the back. "Councilor, you're certain that the turians were not planning something? I mean I know that Wrex has been a pain in the ass over the years about payment."

"He was always stubborn." Liara frowned.

"He got his planets as he wanted. I thought it would settle this." Sparatus addressed his concern.

"There were no hostile interactions between the two before then. Why suddenly this?" Kaidan shook his head.

"The turian people do not want any more bloodshed. We lost too many already from the Reaper War."

"Alenko is right. It doesn't make sense." Liara sighed. "How can we explain this to the krogan? Maybe we should inspect the salvage?"

"Doubtful. The krogan government has that place on lockdown and they are not responding to any messages." Sparatus reminded her.

"Worst possible time." Tali sighed sadly.

"What do you mean?" Kaidan turned to her.

Liara grimaced and then looked at her old friend, then to the digital clock. They only had two minutes left. "We don't have much time."

Sparatus looked at the clock as well. "Make it five minutes. I can make the ambassador wait."

"Of course. We have been investigating a new group called Charon. We believe that they are somehow linked to Cerberus."

"I thought they were taken out?" Sparatus asked.

"All remnants of the old organization were, and we confirmed it. This group was placed so well hidden that only certain individuals must have knew about it. There were no documents in the Cerberus data that identified Charon. They have hacked numerous key places like the archives and have assassinated many.

"I heard of what happened to Dr. Chakwas." Kaidan shook his head sadly. "Tali, I'm glad you're okay. I didn't know what came of that."

"It's good to be wanted, but not like that." The quarian said.

"I was next." Miranda flatly brought up. "Luckily, Liara and the others were onto them too."

"They seem to be targeting individuals associated with Macha Shepard. We believed they were drilling down to the squadmates. We just don't know who their next intended target is." Liara decided not to divulge what Garrus witnessed on Elysium in front of Sparatus. She didn't want the unknown Shepard to be the scapegoat of the war between the krogan and the turians. She prayed that Kaidan wouldn't pry too much until they were alone with him.

"You think this Charon is somehow involved in what's going on now?" Sparatus carefully listened in.

The asari could see the gears in his head turning. Just like Saren, protocol would be to have C-Sec do an investigation into the group. He needed confirmation first. "I'm not sure," She admitted. "It's possible, but I don't understand their motivation behind it. It's very chaotic to jump from targeted individuals to open war."

The room fell silent as everyone mulled over her words. "Wait a minute!" Kaidan shouted enthusiastically as he looked at all of them. "How many targets were a miss?"

"Three so far we believe." Liara glanced over at Miranda and Tali for silent confirmation.

"Aria, myself and Miranda." Tali added.

"And you're sabotage?"

"Two. Chakwas was an anomaly. Keelah." Tali sighed sadly.

"No idea on next target?"

"No. What's your point?" Miranda was becoming impatient with all the guessing games. Sparatus listened in carefully as he remained poised at his desk.

Kaidan looked down at the floor to gather his thoughts before lifting his head once more. "My point is. Charon must know something is up if they are suddenly failing. They must know that you or some of you are on to them. I suspect that Garrus or Wrex must be their next target."

Liara's eyes became wide by his revelation. "Goddess…and they are both separated from us…"

"You said Urdnot Wrex went back to Tuchanka. Only a fool would go there with that many krogan around." Sparatus spoke up with doubt in his voice.

"True. Where's Garrus?" Alenko asked.

Liara looked over at Tali with fear in her eyes. "Leaving this station…."

Raven peeped down the small corridor to see Garrus sitting alone in the passenger cabin with his head propped against the wall with his eyes closed. The other two turians had their backs turned to her and Garrus' direction as they sat behind the pilot controls. The engines were humming as they were warming up for takeoff. She had to move now. She couldn't risk being confide in the vessel with three turians in space. If it went wrong, she had nowhere to go and she always had to have an out. Going straight for her target would be unwise. One misstep and the others would be alerted to her presence. They were at the controls and could instantly alarm C-Sec. She had to get to them first. She could square up against one turian easier than three. Activating her tactical cloak from her omni, she moved from the storage room to the controls. Her presence oblivious to the others.

Raven glanced over at Garrus who didn't move from his position as she walked by him, getting her pistol ready for the assault. A few professional taps to the back of their crania could do the trick with her silencer.

A familiar scent caught Garrus' nasal passages. The aroma would never be foreign to him. He recognized it to be Macha's. Lifting one eyelid slowly open, the room appeared to be empty. Was his sense playing a trick on him? He remained calm and glanced towards the pilot cabin. Suddenly he saw a disturbance in his field of vision. He seen it way too many times in combat. Normally, that only occurred when someone was cloaked. Springing up from his seat, he took out his pistol. "Hold it right there! Close the cabin door and lock it!"

The surprised turians became alarmed and looked his way just as Raven uncloaked herself to confront him. Garrus instantly noted that she changed her appearance yet again and was donning a C-Sec uniform. Mostly likely to get to him. She extended her omni blade as she faced him, her eyes narrowing to slits. Garrus gulped when he saw her, still shocked by her new appearance and demeanor overall. "S-Shepard…"

"Vakarian, sir!" The pilot called over to him.

This brought Shepard's attention to them. She moved to aim her pistol at the pair. Garrus rushed her, knocking her down, and causing the pistol to fall out of her hand. "Lock the door! Don't alert the authorities!" Garrus yelled to them again. This time, the door closed by command.

Raven glared as she kicked him swiftly to knock him off her. She then jumped back onto both of her feet. She lunged at him, knocking him onto his back with her blade moving towards his throat. "Goodbye, Garrus Vakarian!"

"Shepard, don't!"


	11. Chapter 11

MASS EFFECT: WINTER EYES

CHAPTER 11: YOU FIGHT ME II

Quickly jerking his body to the right, Garrus avoided the deadly blow as the omni blade scraped against the ship's floor beneath him. Sparks flew from the contact, heating up his skin. He ignored the pain and used the element of surprise by firmly grabbing Raven's arms, throwing her to the side away from him. Liara's voice crackled in his ear comm, "_Garrus, are you there_?" There was a sense of urgency in her tone.

"I'm kind of busy right now," Garrus gritted through his teeth as he stood back up quickly to confront Raven. He couldn't let the conversation distract him. His adrenaline pumped from the flight or fight mentality. Using his species' famed flexibility skills, he delivered a swift right upper kick that knocked the omni blade off Raven's wrist. The weapon clanged to the floor beside her.

Yelling out, Raven lunged at him again, tackling back to the ground. Her hand grabbing his disclosed pistol out of its holster. Eying the move, he reached out with his arm and grabbed onto the omni blade from the floor beside them, slipping it on. Raven held the pistol barrel at his torso as her thighs pressed down on his body to pin him. Garrus held the point of the blade against her chest, but not firmly enough to do any considerable damage. His breath was rapid as he stared at her in fear. There was so much look of hatred in her eyes. Macha's familiarity was absent. "Shepard, snap out of it!" He strained his voice as he felt the blunt hard weapon against his armor. Even with his kinetic barriers, the proximity of the shot still could do moderate damage to his shields. If she shot, would he dare pierce her with the blade? Would he even have a choice? Did he now?

"This will be for Anderson, you turian bastard!" She hissed through her teeth as daggers seemed to leer at him from her eyes.

"Anderson?!" He gaped at her as he shook his head in disbelief. "Shepard…what are you…. we are on the same side!"

"No, we're not!" Raven jabbed the pistol against him harder.

"I don't know what kind of crap that Charon has been telling you, but it's not true! You are better than that." He kept his blue avian eyes sternly upon her. "You know me, Macha…" His voice softened. "I'm Garrus Vakarian…you and I…we're a team. There's no Shepard without Vakarian. Remember that?" He noticed the pressure from the pistol loosened slightly. Was he getting through to her?

"Macha? Who the hell…" Raven shook her head. "I don't go by that. I've never worked with you." She felt herself struggling to pull the trigger. In the back of her mind, she knew that the conversation was delaying her mission and putting her further at risk. Her body remained frozen. Why couldn't she be done with it already?

"Yes, you have." Garrus slowly inched the blade away from her in an act of good faith as his eyes stayed on her. He gulped slowly, wondering if it was the risk he truly wanted to take at his current predicament. If he was wrong, he was good as dead. "We defeated Saren. You found me on Omega…" He laughed softly. "You have to remember, Archangel. Right?"

Raven lowered her pistol as she moved off him. "Archangel? I…" The name did resonate in her memories, but the meaning eluded her. It felt like a block. Where did she hear that before? How could she? Even if it meant something to her, how did he know? Was it a trick?

"_Garrus_?!" Liara's panicked voice came through the ship's radio and intercom system. "_Are you alright?! I'm sending C-Sec your way_."

"Fuck." Disgruntled at another failed mission, Raven delivered a hard kick at Garrus' center, catching him off guard, sending him reeling across the room. His back struck the wall hard and the impact dazed him. This gave her time to move quickly out of the ship and back onto the port. Her eyes darted quickly to gather her surroundings. She ran out of time and now the clock was ticking against her. She had to make it to her designated getaway before the entire place was on lockdown. Ignoring the idea of being discreet, she shoved bystanders out of the way that were busy doing their own business among the docking area and darted towards another ship. Luckily, the New Citadel was still a large vessel to where it could have several smaller ships docked at one time.

Garrus regained his composure and darted in the same direction she went out of the ship. A few startled dock workers were grumbling by the sudden discord, but he couldn't make out where she went. "Where did she go?!"

"The C-Sec officer went that way!" A green tone salarian thumbed away from their location. "I'm going to report her!"

Garrus shoved him to the side, ignoring the salarian's protest and moved through the crowd. "Out of the way!" He tapped his ear comm. "Liara!"

"_Garrus, what is going on?!"_ His friend replied on the other end.

"Shepard is here! We need this place on lockdown! I can't lose her!" He screamed as his eyes darted desperately around the area. There were several ships docked with workers nearby. No sign of any disturbance. Did she sneak on board? Did she make it to the elevator to leave the area to another part of the ship? How far out did she plan this? He needed more bodies to aid in the search. With her tactical cloak, she had the capability to sneak past others without detection. "Hey! Did a female human with purple hair come by here?" He stopped a turian worker.

The worker shook his head. "No."

Garrus eyed the ship suspiciously. The ramp was open, so it didn't mean she couldn't get onboard. "Crap. Don't take off as scheduled. Watch the hatch. If you see her, alert the authorities."

"We are on a schedule. I can't- "The turian protested.

"Just do it!" Garrus yelled back as he moved onto the next ship. His breath ragged as his anxiety was through the roof.

"About damn time you showed up." The Asian descent male greeted Raven as she raced up to his vessel. "We almost left."

"Go now!" Raven shoved him inside as she moved to quickly get out of sight. She engaged her cloak to move through the crowds until she reached the designated vessel on the last berth. "They are going to lock this place down!"

"Shit!" The man raced to the pilot's chair. He put on his headset as he warmed up the engines. "C-Sec Control, this is Eden Delta. We are behind schedule. I'm departing now."

Raven anxiously listened in as she stood at the doorway. Her heart raced in her chest as she glanced out the viewport to the dock workers below. There was no sign of Garrus or any others looking for her nearby. They had to leave…and they had to do it now.

"_You are clear, Eden Delta_." A turian officer's voice came back seconds later. "_Safe travels_."

"Omega. Fun place." The pilot sarcastically said. A ploy. Their destination was not the asteroid station, but it would be in the books should any investigation look into their departure. "See you on the flip side." He severed the connection before any communique came through. A human joke would be missed by the turian and he didn't want to try to explain it to their species.

Satisfied that they were leaving, Raven settled down in the passenger hold and restrained herself. Her eyes still worrisome glanced over at the hatch. "Come on, damnit…" She huffed under her breath as she felt the ship break away from the magnetic hold. The engines roared louder as they began their ascent away from the ship and towards the relay. One of the few that was salvaged and repaired after the catalyst's effect. Their true destination after the relay would be to jump to Amaranthine. A planet located in the Fortuna System of the Horsehead Nebular cluster. Its frozen surface discouraged any travelers, but its rich deposits of thorium and other heavy metals made it perfect for mining camps and smugglers. She would be dropped off at one of the ports until her connection back to basecamp arrived. Despite the relay, the journey would still take several long hours and would have given her time to rest from her mission. Instead, she needed the time to reflect upon her incursion with Garrus. His words seem to haunt her. Who exactly was he? A knot formed in her stomach. Were pieces of the puzzle missing?

"What is going on?" Sparatus finally asked as he watched the troubled asari in his office as she contacted Garrus. "Is he still on this ship? I thought you said he went to Palaven."

"Goddess…" Liara could hear the sense of urgency in Garrus' tone. Something must have happened. Was he alright? Was Shepard truly there? "We need to get C-Sec to lockdown the ship!"

"What?! I just can't-," Her vagueness frustrated him.

"Charon is here! They tried to assassinate Garrus!" She turned on him sharply. "If you want the war with the krogan to end, we need to keep Garrus alive!"

The councilor remained still as he pondered what she told him. "Charon? What are you talking about?"

"Fucking sake…" Kaidan grumbled under his breath as he moved closer to approach the troubled councilor. "It's Cerberus! Just do what she says!"

Eying the Spectre, Sparatus swiftly moved to his desk and paged Kandros. "This is Sparatus. We have a situation onboard. I want the entire place on lockdown right now! No ship is to leave."

"_Understood, sir_." Kandros responded punctually. "_I'm on it. I'll dispatch officers to the docks right now_."

Liara looked at her team. "I think the ambassador will have to wait. Let's get down to the dock." She purposefully hid that Shepard was the one who attacked their friend. She couldn't divulge this until they got the situation under control. She knew that Weyrloc Pandok would not be pleased to know that she was once against pushed aside, but the alarm on the ship could give them some leverage in keeping her calm. The krogan were irate enough and a hostile one onboard the station was out of the question.

Destitana greeted them after they met up with Garrus down at the dock. "All ships have been instructed to halt their departure. I have a lot of angry merchants. What's going on?"

Garrus looked at his friends before saying anything. "It was Charon. A group behind several recent assassinations."

"We think they are behind the attack on Korlus." Liara added.

"What do they want here?" The C-Sec Captain inquired.

"Apparently to take me out." Garrus muttered. "Are you sure all ships are accounted for?" Did he manage to keep Raven on the New Citadel? If it was, it would be to their advantage. She had nowhere to go and eventually could be found. The New Citadel was not riddled with Keeper tunnels like the old station. Not many hiding places.

Destitana pulled up her omni tool. "One merchant ship did manage to leave but they were scheduled to do so. A few minutes late, but not out of pattern for merchant ships."

Garrus silently cursed. One did slip away… "Where was it heading?"

"Its manifest flagged it for Omega."

"Thank you, Captain." Vakarian motioned Liara with his hand at his side. He needed to speak with her and the others about what really transpired.

"Alright. I need to follow up on a few things and report back to Sparatus. As if an upset krogan on here was bad enough…" Kandros moved away to address her fellow officers.

"Keelah, Garrus, are you alright?" Tali finally asked after she was sure that Kandros could not hear their conversation. "Was it…Shepard?"

"Yeah…the reunion was not pleasant." He winced from his body aching after the tumble. "I think I got through to her."

"What do you mean? Was it her?" Miranda looked at him.

"It…has to be. Her name eludes her, so they must have changed it. She hesitated on killing me." He allowed himself to sigh in relief. "Thankfully."

"Wait…how it can be possible? The reports said she was dead after the destruction of the Citadel. We all know she went into the beam after Harbinger's attack." Miranda shook her head in disbelief.

"Of all the people, you Miranda, should know it is quite possible to resurrect her." Liara smiled slightly to her. "I obtained Shepard's body to help Cerberus achieve the feat before. If Charon is a branch of Cerberus, they would have all your data on the Lazarus project."

"What if it's another clone?" Tali asked, recalling their entanglement with the rogue clone on the Citadel prior to their defeat of the Reapers. "That was Cerberus as well."

"Two clones?" Miranda asked incredulously.

"Even you didn't know about the clone, Miranda." Liara pointed out. "It seems that the Illusive Man was hiding more than he shared."

"I wonder what else he hid from me…" The ex-operative seethed. "Maybe, I should reach out to Jacob and Brie. See what they know."

"Good idea. With being an ex-Cerberus scientist, she may know more about this." Garrus looked over to the asari once more. "We should hit up Omega. See if we can find what happened to the ship."

T'Soni facepalmed. "That means dealing with Aria again."

"Hold it." Kaidan broke into the conversation after sitting back to think on the matter while they talked. He was out of the loop for most of their dealings with Charon, but he remembered the legalities of the situation when Shepard was determined to track down the rogue agent, Saren Arterius. The search called for a greater amount of resources than what the Alliance had. It required the aid of the Council to have some sort of authority. C-Sec only reached within the boundaries of Council Space. "What if we do find the ship on Omega? We can't simply just detain it. Omega is part of the Terminus systems."

"He's right." Miranda agreed. "Aria won't care for what's going between the krogan and turian, much less than the attack here.

"Council law cannot invoke its rule there." Alenko continued. "You're talking about sparking another war with the Terminus systems. We don't need another open war. We're four minutes to midnight now with the krogan."

"I just can't let her go back to them!" Garrus felt his emotions rushing out of his mouth before he had time to think about what he was saying. He needed to find Shepard. He needed to get through to her. They couldn't hide her allegiance to Charon much longer. If it came out that the ex-Commander of the Alliance and former Spectre was now working with a terrorist group, the Council would quickly label her as a traitor. Even more so if she did manage to finally assassinate someone. She faced trial before on Earth for her crimes against the batarian race after the destruction of the relay in the Aratoht system. He had to remain on the sidelines while she faced judgment. He wasn't about to let it happen again. Admiral Hackett backed her, which helped her. He was retired, and Anderson was dead. No one was there to truly have her back in the Alliance.

"I'll talk to the human ambassador to see if the Council will grant me permission to head to the Terminus system to investigate this further. I won't mention Shepard. I promise." He pleaded to his old comrade gently. "It's better than the alternative."

"Good idea, Kaidan." T'Soni smiled at him warmly. "Thank you."

"I'll go with you. "As part of the Admirality Board of Rannoch, I still have some push on this station." Tali stepped forward to take his side.

"In the meantime, we will find passage to Omega. We'll wait for your signal." Liara ushered Garrus towards the merchant ships. "We can get Kandros to clear one for us."

"I'll go find Jacob." Miranda waved to them as she took down the corridor towards the public terminals.

Garrus stood there as everyone parted their own way. He sighed sadly and shook his head as he looked at the blue asari. "Heh, I hate to say it. This almost seems like old times."

"What do you mean?" Liara asked as she led him towards the row of ships.

"Heading to the Terminus systems to track down a rogue agent…needing the Council's help."

"Just never thought the rogue agent would be Shepard."


	12. Chapter 12

MASS EFFECT: WINTER EYES

CHAPTER 12: ARCHANGEL

Her shoulders were rigid as Raven stood in front of the video communication terminal located on the pilot's console. The lens was just large enough to capture her standing there at the doorway. She couldn't see Erinyes on the other side but could pretty much guess at her facial expressions when she bared the bad news. The mission to the New Citadel was a failure. Her second failure. During her training days in the N7 program, she recalled a few test operations to not go accordingly. There would be a debrief with the officers and then she would be graded: Pass or Fail. They had different objectives in each mission. Achieve most and you would still pass. Here, there were no such options. Either you achieved your target, or you didn't. Remaining silent, she awaited her commanding officer to reprimand her. Raven struggled to recall her achievements that made her such a great soldier before her untimely falling out from reality. Everyone she interacted with in Charon spoke highly about her work; especially for humanity. She began to doubt herself. Was the damage to her mental strength more damaging than Charon detected? What about her physical health? Was she slower than she remembered? She recalled being the top of her class upon graduation. The radio was silent as Erinyes seemed to mull over what was fully disclosed from her report. The pilot in the craft remained diligent at flying them to their designated area: Amaranthine. An internal conflict stirred within Shepard. This was the second time that the turian interfered. Something about him just didn't settle right with her. Especially when he spoke about Archangel. She knew that the term itself for humans with religious beliefs portrayed an angel of higher rank. A turian with a human label was very odd indeed. This was a matter that she wanted to explore further personally.

"_Your mission report was very detailed. Thank you, Raven_." Erinyes finally commented, easing the tension in the air. "_I will have transport for you shortly. Standby for your contact._" The line disconnected.

The conversation was a lot shorter than Raven anticipated, but Erinyes was very careful. Lengthy conversations gave ample time for hackers to tap in and trace them. Charon had one of the best tech teams, but assumptions were deadly. Still, there was a hint of unpleasantness to her words. Moving out of the doorway and back to the private passenger hold, Raven pulled up her mobile terminal. Typing in the keyword "Archangel" found no results. Grimacing, Raven closed her terminal station at her side and sighed while cupping her face. What was going on?

A few seconds transpired before Erinyes was on the comm again with one of her other operatives. "Avery?"

"_Yes, Lady Erinyes?"_ The younger female promptly answered.

"Raven is on her way to Amaranthine. I need you there to pick her up. I expect only a two-hour layover there for her. Is that clear?"

"_Of course_."

"Wait." Erinyes held the connection. Raven's report was troubling to her. She knew Raven's psych profile front and back to the very last detail. The dedication that Macha had before her transformation showed that she never gave up. She was determined and focus. She listened to archived recordings of conversations she had with the Illusive Man. He recorded every call with encryption locks. Passwords were only given to her. His passing revealed that he planned for his death long before she became aware of what was going on. A man filled with contingencies. She often wondered if she was replaceable should she have an untimely death? Did he already have a suitor? Raven Shepard should have protested her failure. Instead, she was passive and accepted it. She couldn't delay the possibility of an infection any longer. She had to get Raven back to her and complete a thorough neurological scan. Shepard was one of her top invested assets. Still, if Raven was slipping away, she couldn't let Shepard go back to her old team or even the Alliance. She had to keep the turmoil going in the galaxy, she had to put humanity as the top spoke of the wheel. "Keep your sidearm at the ready at all times, Avery. If Raven shows any sign of betrayal, kill her."

"_Yes, mam_." The line ended.

Switching over to another screen, she placed another call. Seconds later the image of a striking dark-skinned man who was ten years her elder displayed on the screen. "Lady Erinyes." He greeted her warmly.

"Colonel. Things are going too slowly. What do you have for me?"

"Our intel shows a small turian colony on Carborix in the Castellus System. It's far from any turian military fleet."

"Perfect."

"I have translators going to feed intel to Tuchanka to inform them that the turians are stationing a garrison there with a fleet inbound to launch another attack on a krogan colony. The fleet has not yet arrived. The krogan will see this as vulnerable. Due to the attack on Korlus, they should rise to this bait."

"How soon can you get this out?" Erinyes seethed at the mouth, desiring it like someone would at a buffet who hadn't eaten in days.

The man returned her response with a smile. "I can send it in five minutes. I was doing all the final checks now."

Satisfied, Erinyes ended the call and basked in the afterglow. Even if Raven should defect, the war she would spark would continue to thrive. Not even the famous Commander Shepard could restore the harmony that the feuding species had since the Reaper War. The whole ideal of peace was a farce to her. The constant effort was in vain and a waste of resources and manpower. No more human lives would be sacrificed.

Dressed in smugglers attire, Raven disguised herself as she exited her ship at the port on Amaranthine. Within minutes, her ride left and exited the atmosphere, leaving her there with the melting pot of mercs, pirates, smugglers and thieves. "Slaver's Bay" was the name of a rundown bar on the outside of the dock. Most jobs and meet-ups took place inside. Her information provided to her that the bar was run by a three-eyed female batarian named Brachia Pas'fador. She lost one eye during a fight when she was ambushed on Camala when she ran a slaving gig. The injury was an insult to her kind since they believed that the soul escaped the body through the eyes. The attackers assumed that her soul would forever be trapped in her body upon death and would rot with the corpse. Brachia didn't care, and her usual trademark statement was "Piss on them." To her, now was the time to live. She didn't care about the afterlife. Cigarette smoke and laughter filled the large room that housed at least thirty beings of varied species. Upon entry, to her left was a table surrounded by two pirate turians and an elcor client. On her right was a group of four batarian slavers that eyed her suspiciously as she walked in. She ignored their looks and continued inside to spot the bar's selection of pay terminals at the counter. Brachia was manning the bar and noted her approach. "If you use these machines, you need to buy a drink," She grunted to her.

"Easy enough. Give me something strong." Raven swiped her chit to pay the terminal allowance fee.

Brachia grumbled about her vagueness and reached under the counter to retrieve a shot glass along with a bottle of batarian ale. Pouring the strong smelling green liquid, she set the bottle down and lifted an eye ridge at her. "Drink one shot only if you don't want to die." She noted Raven's payment on the terminal. "Access is for an hour only. If you're looking for work, I can find you something."

"I have a ride out." Raven switched her attention to the terminal. She noticed that Brachia was still eying her. Reaching out with her left hand, she grabbed the shot glass and downed the liquid quickly. The contents burned her throat and her chest. Her eyes watered slightly, but she restrained herself from coughing. She never drank something so strong in her life!

Brachia snickered in amusement. "Humans always think they are better."

"We are." Raven smirked. "Pour me another."

The bartender's jaw dropped by the remark. Catching herself, her three eyes slanted at Raven. "I'm not a damn waitress. The bottle's right there. These assholes in this place will rob you if you pass out…some may rape you. I'm not responsible just to be clear."

"You always this talkative to your customers?" Raven shot back to her. "Piss on them and your advice."

Shocked even more that the human got in her trademark statement, Brachia's top lip curled as she snarled before stomping away. Satisfied that she was completely alone, Raven ignored the bottle of ale and returned her attention to her task. She had to test out something. Using the database search engine, she keyed in "Archangel." Before her query could display any results, a pair of drunk turians bumped into her, causing her to knock the bottle of ale on the floor behind the bar with a sickening crash. "Hey!"

"Sorry, sweetheart. Didn't see your sweet little ass standing there." The first turian apologized with a sadistic smirk on his face. Alcohol smell fumed from his breath.

"You spilled her drink." The other commented to his friend who was also having trouble standing still.

"Oh, I did?" The first turian moved to her right side to lean over the countertop to see the broken bottle with the fluid inside leaking all over the floor. He took his left hand and lowered to where the palm was touching her right buttock lightly, rubbing softly. "I'll make it up to you."

Irked of the audacity of touching her, Raven growled, spun to grab his left wrist, twisting the ligaments in an unnatural position. The turian screamed in pain as he collapsed onto his knees at her mercy. Tightening her fingertips, Shepard grinned down at him. "What's the matter? You don't like it rough?" She ignored his useless attempts of trying to get free as he wailed.

"Hey!" His friend stammered as he moved towards her recklessly to defend the wounded.

Raven easily maneuvered while keeping her fingers locked around her prey's wrist and delivered a hard punch to the other's abdomen. The turian doubled over with the breath knocked out of him instantly. He stumbled back before retching all over the floor. Finally releasing her hold, she delivered a hard kick in the center of the turian's torso. The momentum made him stumble back into his sick friend and the both collapsed in the other's puddle. Looking at the two failures, Raven kept her fists clenched as she panted from the adrenaline rush.

Brachia laughed surprisingly in amusement despite her lost product. "You amuse me, human. Fuck it. Forget the ale. I'll charge their tabs. Your next drink is on me."

The disturbance caught the attention of many patrons who broken away from their conversation to watch the skirmish. Not liking all their eyes on her activity, Raven moved away from the terminal to a table by herself. Grabbing a customer's bottle along the way, she ignored their protests and moved to the back. Taking a swig of the drink, she allowed herself to relax as she felt the eyes moving away from her. It wasn't like this was the type of place where fights normally didn't break out at. A Blue Suns batarian merc stopped her as she passed their table. "Thanks for the amusement. This place has been dull for the past three hours."

"Yeah. Seems like it is," Raven tried to fit the clientele as she made the small talk short and took a swig from the drink. It seemed to be a human ale and much sweeter than the batarian kind. Her head was already spinning from the first drink, but she wouldn't let that catch on.

"You looking for work? We could use someone like you."

Figuring that her being solo may spark more interest on her, she decided to accept the invitation now and sit down at their table. She could kill a little more time until her next ride arrived. "Yeah? What kind of work?"

"Sit down." The batarian motioned to the chair next to him. "The name is Ogam Pagdeh."

Raven glanced at their attire and picked up instantly on their insignias. The oval shape and bright blue was hard to miss. "I didn't know that the Suns were out this far."

"Work has been rough for a while. We go where we are paid. This place is a hub now for the slave trade." He explained. "I know you humans are against that shit…well some of you." He took out a cigarette from his pack and offered her one.

Raven rejected it as she privately took note of their armament. Each merc at the table had a side arm to him. Nothing too heavy or damaging against her armor's shields, but good in close combat. Only a fool would have a lax conversation in this place. "Quit dancin' around. You asking me to be a slaver?"

The others at the table chuckled. "What if we are?" Another spoke up. He had a deep scar on the left side of his face. "You going to tell Council Space on us?"

"Why would the Council care?" Raven countered pointedly. "They have bigger things to deal with."

"Heard about that shit." Ogam nodded as he took a puff from the cigarette in his mouth before exhaling through his nostrils. The smoke surrounding the table.

Raven decided to test her query another way. She knew she would sound stupid in asking, but she figured she could come up with some quick lie if it drew no results. "Ever heard of Archangel?"

The batarians nearly choked and the entire table became silent as they eyed each one carefully. Ogam snubbed his cigarette on the table. "Yeah, I heard about him. You from Omega, too?"

A ping! Shepard held her breath. She wanted to ask them everything they knew as her time was running out, but she couldn't let desperation make the ordeal disastrous. After all, she wasn't in the best of situations. "Nah. Thought he would be here. Heard stories though. What about Omega?"

Ogam looked at her quizzically. "He's dead. The turian bastard. Heard he hit up the Suns there hard along with the Eclipse and Blood Pack. Tried to police us. Omega has no law enforcement and it just pissed everyone off."

As he spoke, Raven listened in carefully. She could almost recall hearing her call out to Archangel on the asteroid station. Suddenly, the image of Garrus Vakarian looking at her in blue armor crept in her mind. The memory didn't appear recent at all. In fact, he didn't look threatening, but as almost he was having a friendly conversation with her. He could hear his words in her mind, "_Good to see a friendly face_." As the imagery dissipated, a sharp pain struck her head like a sudden migraine. Her eyes hurt so much to even stay open. Crying out, she held her temples with her hands as she squinted her eyes tightly as they could be.

Her sudden behavior alarmed the group. "Hey! You okay?!" Ogam shook her arm.

Taking a few breaths to calm herself down, Raven slowly reopened her eyes to see them staring at her with confused looks. "What the hell is your problem? Do you have a mental issue?" Ogam asked.

"No…just damn migraines." Raven set back in her chair some as she tried her best to ignore the pain that was slowly fading. She wouldn't try to recall the memory too much until she learned more. Giving the opportunity, she had to press more. "Whatever happened to Archangel? How did he die?"

Ogam shrugged. "Dunno. Heard one of the groups got him."

Another one shook his head. "No. I heard that he ran off Omega with Macha Shepard and died later on. The mercs were going to fry his ass. Too bad she showed up."

"Who?" The words fell off her trembling lips.

"The Spectre. She came on Omega and then was gone. He was gone too. I think Aria was in on it." The batarian continued.

"Aria was annoyed. She didn't care who got Archangel off her station." Ogam countered.

"What Spectre?" Raven's focus was at their disposal and she seemed to be disinterested about the real reason she was there.

"You shitting me, right?" Ogam gaped at her. "What planet did you come from? The humans had a Spectre named Shepard. Some Alliance soldier. Don't know much else and don't care. She was messing around our business."

"She's dead now too." The second one chimed in matter-of-factly.

"Good riddance."

Raven felt her entire body quake inside as she listened in. Dead? Macha Shepard? Spectre? Feeling nauseous, she quickly sprung up from the table. Her heart was racing rapidly. Her sudden outburst alarmed the aliens. "What hell is wrong with you? You okay?" Ogam looked up at her.

"I feel sick." Raven rushed to the bathroom. She felt the bile coming up her throat as their words played back over and over in her mind. After a few minutes of disposing what was left of her last food intake in the toilet, Raven used water to clean out her mouth and her face up. Her watery red shot eyes stood back at her in the uncleaned, finger smudged mirror. The atmosphere of the bar never changed as the layered sounds of idle chatter, glasses clanging, and laughter could be heard outside the bathroom. She was the only one in there. She looked at herself more. "Who the hell am I? What the hell is going on?" Her mind spun and the more she tried to think things through, the more the migraines came up and the sicker she felt.

A rough tap on her shoulder made her break from her thoughts. In the mirror's reflection she eyed the two drunken turians that she beat up earlier. One had dried vomit all over his clothing in the front while the other nursed his severely injured wrist. Their beady avian eyes glared sharply at her like knives. "We weren't done with you," The sick one hissed through his tightened mandible.

Raven glared back at their images with her clenched teeth. "I was." She retracted her omni blade and spun on her heel quickly. She blocked one's attack with her left upper arm while she drove the blade's tip sharply in the gut of the first one that lunged at her. The blade pierced his flesh, tearing into vital organs. The turian groaned as blue blood trickled out from the corners of his mouth. Pulling the blade out, Raven side stepped and slid her foot to the side allowing her arm extension to move in parallel rotation. The blade slid through the air, cutting it and finally connecting with the other turian's neck. The fatal swift motion decapitated him, and his head crashed to the floor along with the body. Panting, Raven stared down at their bodies as a large puddle of blue blood spilled onto the floor. Collapsing her blade, she stepped over the turians to enter the bar once more. She knew that nobody would care about two dead turians in the bathroom, but eventually, word would get out and she would get noticed. Seeing that the Suns were gone, she exited the bar to try to meet up with them.

Spotting the group walking towards the docks, she jogged to their location. "Hey!"

Overhearing her approach, Ogam turned to see her. "Better?"

"Yeah. Where you off to now?"

"Omega. Need to pick up a new contract. Maybe a bounty. We normally don't recruit off the streets like this. I guess you can tag along. You look like you can fight."

"I can." Raven smirked, not wanting to disclose what she just did at the bar just yet.

Following the group, Raven kept her pace back as she activated her omni tool. She would send a delayed message to Erinyes. She just didn't want to disappear. If Charon was hiding something, they would be on her. She had to make them think everything was fine. She would set the response to be sent within the next hour. Time for her to get off the planet and on the way to Omega before anyone came here to look for her. She didn't know just how many of the operatives were coming to her location for the pickup. "Erinyes, this is Raven. I think I have a lead. Belay the pickup. I'll find my way." She ended the message at that. It would still be out of place for her, but it would have to do for now. She needed more answers and it seemed like the Blue Suns, Omega and Aria T'Loak could fill in the gaps on her loss of memory more than terminals. Was Charon fully not disclosing all the facts to her?


	13. Chapter 13

MASS EFFECT: WINTER EYES

CHAPTER 13: Omega

"Thank you for taking my call, Wrex." Liara welcomed their old friend on the other end when Garrus walked into the small room aboard their transport ship that was inbound to Omega. ETA was twenty minutes to the relay. As soon as they entered the system, their ship would be marked and contacted. From their last fiasco, Aria most likely wasn't going to take any chances of being outwitted. It looked bad upon her and weakness exploitation was not her game.

Garrus observed that behind the burly krogan were others of his species bustling around a makeshift command center, most likely on Tuchanka. Wrex's facial expression showed a stubborn, determined krogan who was most likely going to ignore whatever advice that was thrown to him. He hoped that Liara could handle the delicate matter. They both agreed that she should be the one to reach out to him after their meeting with the councilor versus Garrus. Despite being old squadmates, Wrex's opinion of him shattered and was almost to the state they were in when they first teamed up with Shepard. Yellow eyes on the screen watched Garrus enter the room suspiciously and return to Liara. "You ready to believe me, Liara? Or what piss did the Turian Councilor throw on you?"

"Wrex…" Garrus seethed, biting at his tongue not to say anymore.

Liara held up her right hand to silence him. "You know I don't take sides, Wrex. Yes, I did speak with the Councilor and he has no knowledge about what happened on Korlus."

"Screw that." The krogan spat.

It took every fiber of her being not to verbally attack him. Taking a breath, Liara paused to collect herself before addressing him. "I believe him, Wrex. There's nothing coming through the feeds that the Turian military orchestrated the attack."

"That means they just covered their tracks," Wrex huffed.

"I have a suspicion that Charon may be involved."

"The admiral spoke to the colony before he annihilated every single krogan on Korlus. Scouts observed the turian ship's salvage on the colony. Now you have the audacity to say it's some human group?" Pained, Wrex's voice strained at his words. The death of Bakara and his sons was still fresh to him.

"The Hierarchy should have been allowed to assess the ship. Cross check the logs." Garrus spoke up, unable to remain calm any longer.

"So, they could just remove the evidence?" Wrex glared at him coldly. "Nice try, Vakarian. You, turians, are all the same."

"And you krogan- "

"Enough!" Liara raised her voice to stop the exchange of words. It angered her to see her friends fight like this. With her fists clenched at her sides, her chest tight, she sharply turned to Garrus to look at him, before returning her focus to the task at hand. "Shepard tried to take out Garrus on the Citadel."

"Good."

"This is serious. We believe she fled to Omega. Garrus and I are on our way to find her and figure out what exactly is going on."

"Have fun there. In the meantime, I'm sending troops to Carborix."

"What for?" Garrus questioned.

This time, the krogan turned to look at him. "You mean your councilor didn't tell you?" He paused to allow his words plague their minds with worry. "Your Hierarchy, Garrus, are sending troops there within the colony to make another sneak attack. If the Turians don't mind spilling blood, then neither do the krogan!" Several roars of agreement could be heard in from clan members that picked up on the heated exchange.

Vakarian' s eyes became wide as he listened in. He knew of that colony, but why would his own leaders tell him one thing and do something else behind his back. Perhaps, his friend was right. Did the Turians intentionally attack Korlus to prevent any further expansion? Was a krogan rebellion on the verge again? "Hold up!" Liara spoke up at the discretion. "What proof do you have?"

"Sorry, Liara. I cannot disclose everything. Not with- "A beat. "Him in the room." His eyes narrowed some at Garrus. "Besides, how can I trust you?"

"Give us seventy-two hours. I know I can find evidence of Charon's hand in this."

"I'm not going to turn a blind eye to what's going on, Liara." Wrex sternly said. "Seventy-two hours will give the turians time to bulk up their defenses. Korlus didn't have that type of time to prepare. Why should I give them that courtesy?" Hatred seethed at his lips.

Liara held it together as she took another breath. "We need time to find Shepard. You know how difficult Aria can be."

"Forty-Eight and not a second more." He snapped back. "Krogan honor."

Allowing a brief sigh of relief, Liara smiled slightly. "Thank you, Wrex." She knew if the krogan attacked the turian colony then the war would begin, and it would take more than friendly talks to dissolve the conflict. She didn't want to see another genophage and this time, the krogan would be ready for it. Ending the call, she turned to look at Garrus, mentally drained. "That went…well."

Still unbalanced by the idea that the turians were planning on attacking the krogan again without his knowledge, Garrus allowed a few chuckles to escape his lips, to shrug everything off the best that he could. "You surprise me, Liara. You have your mother's tone." He thought back to their run-in with Matriarch Benezia on Noveria.

"Or my father's…." Liara smiled slightly at him.

"That's right…you are like half krogan?" Garrus grinned slyly at her.

The smile on the asari's face faded quickly. "That's not fair."

"I need to talk to the Primarch. I can't believe they are actually going to go through with it."

"I agree. Let's just hope that Kaidan gets the Council's blessing to show up on Omega. If not, Aria may not be pleased that we showed up again uninvited."

Kaidan Alenko interlaced his fingertips behind his back with his shoulders squared as he stood before the four council members: Tevos, Valern, Sparatus and Sorvel. All seated comfortably before him in the room with their assistants off to the side, waiting dutifully. The audience chamber was not as lavish as the Council Chambers was on the old Citadel. Accompanying Alenko were Tali and Miranda, who stood near the door for moral support. Tali was a little closer since as an Admiral and representative of the Quarian race, she would have more weight to tip the scale in Alenko' s favor if needed. Miranda was a former Cerberus operative which the Council slighted but respected her for show only for her termination with the known terrorist group. Any affiliation with Cerberus was an act of treason in the Council's eyes. Even after her departure, they never really trusted her. Miranda could feel their eyes upon her as soon as she entered. Her appearance was shocking to them. Would it hurt their request? Prior to the meeting that was scheduled three hours after the attack on the station, the Council was able to read the petition that Kaidan submitted. Their neutral faces made it hard for Kaidan to know if they were granting or denying his request to use his Spectre status to go into the Terminus systems to find the assassin. Shepard's name was never dropped. "I want to verify this report, Spectre Alenko." Sorvel Gupta, representing humanity, spoke first as if he was cued by the others. "You believe that the assassin, affiliated with the Cerberus splinter cell, Charon, has fled to the Terminus systems?"

"Yes. Omega to be exact." Kaidan could sense the doubt in Gupta's voice.

The charcoal black haired man in his fifties studied Alenko before eying his cohorts. "How come Charon has not come across any C-Sec feeds until recently? Have you verified this information?"

"It has been verified. Charon was a well-hidden group, sir."

"Here it comes…" Miranda mumbled under her breath as she listened in.

"This takes me back…" Tali thought to herself as she listened in carefully. She remembered standing before the original three council members when Macha displayed the evidence she submitted into Saren's treason.

"Verified by whom?" Valern, the Salarian Councilor, piped in. His dark glossy bulbous eyes staring at Alenko.

Alenko never let go of his posture. "That's classified, sir." He paused. "A reliable source."

"We need hard evidence, Spectre Alenko. Withholding information from the Council is unwise." Sparatus, the Turian Councilor, chimed in as his avian eyes focused on him.

"Spectre Alenko," Tevos, the Asari Councilor, interjected softly. "Your service record is commendable."

"Thank you, mam."

"However, what you are asking us is dangerous. Sending a representative of the Council into the Terminus systems is ill-advised. Aria will not take this likely."

"I'm aware of that, mam."

"And yet, you want us to risk open war with the Terminus systems?" Sparatus barked.

"With the Krogan rebellion going on, I don't think it's wise to do this. The assassin is no longer on this station. I'm sure we can increase C-Sec patrols."

Tevos turned to look at him. "We have not identified the conflict between the turians and krogan currently as another rebellion, Councilor Valern."

The salarian appeared confused by her correction. "Their false accusation of- "

"With all due respect, Councilor Valern and Councilor Tevos. I don't think the krogan are the issue at hand now, nor the subject of my petition." Kaidan stepped in to remind of them why he was there. He silently prayed that the Krogan Ambassador could not hear what was being said. That's all he needed to add to this.

"Bosh'tet." Tali fumed and stormed to take Kaidan's side, despite the protocol of her being announced first as a testifying witness. "When Shepard went to the Terminus systems, you allowed this to happen. You found a way around it. You can do it again. C-Sec failed to protect Dr. Chakwas. There was an attack on my life as well."

"C-Sec has increased their force since the event, Admiral Tali vas Rannoch." Sparatus addressed her.

"Yet, the assassin almost got to Garrus Vakarian easily. Luckily, he was able to thwart the attack." Kaidan took to the center again. "That's two on this station. Who will be next?"

"Garrus Vakarian should testify about his encounter. Was he able to identify the attacker or provide C-Sec a description?" Valern spoke up once more.

"He left to find the assassin." Alenko smiled softly. "He doesn't seem to give up his old days as a C-Sec officer. He tracked the ship the assassin left on to Omega."

"And no identification on the assassin?" Tevos asked.

Kaidan shook his head without the hint of hesitation. "No, mam. Witnesses describe her to be a female human posing as a C-Sec officer with purple hair, but that's about it."

"Her physical appearance would be altered from the true form. All field agents do that with Cerberus." Miranda decided to give her two cents on the matter. She knew they wouldn't really appreciate her input, but any information on Charon would help.

"Provoking Aria T'Loak is not wise." Gupta informed the group. "She will use this as a way to exploit the Council."

"I agree. We have enough to worry about as it is." Sparatus nodded.

Alenko chewed his lip. He was losing traction on this fast! "We cannot ignore this, Councilors." His voice projected louder than planned. "Charon is becoming dangerous and if we are not careful, we will lose more valuable people. I understand there are other pressing matters to intend to, but this enemy will not come at you directly. They work in the shadows and can easily infiltrate. They have showed these numerous times. I fear the safety of the Council is at hand. My job is to invoke the Council concerns, but it is to also protect you. Going into Terminus System is the only way to handle this."

"Kai Leng almost got you years ago, Council Valern." Tali reminded the salarian in front of her. "You were lucky because Thane and Shepard were around to save you."

"I remember. I am grateful to my rescue."

"As stated before by your companion, Spectre Alenko. We were able to grant Commander Shepard access before under strict privileges. You would be acting alone. We could not send you aid."

"You can be replaced." Gupta reminded him coldly as he eyed him. Kaidan wondered if the threat was more of a foreshadow of what was to come down the road for him. He never heard of Spectre's being stripped of their titles without serious offenses like Saren.

"I understand all of this." He said calmly, ignoring the threat for now. "Am I free to leave now?"

Sparatus exchanged a silent look with the asari before waving his hand to dismiss.

"About damn time." Miranda said under her breath as she quickly took Kaidan's left side as he turned to leave the room.

"I hope we make it there in time." Tali was on their heels in distress.

"Me too, Tali. At least, I got the okay." Alenko kept his dark eyes straight ahead as he walked, avoiding any looks on passerby's who were quietly questioning his appearance at the Council Chambers.

"Your ship will be marked as Spectre. You really think Aria will let us land?" Miranda hated to be the pessimist of the group, but clearance from the Council was not good enough.

"She didn't shoot down the Normandy when Shepard went there. Maybe, I'll get the same welcoming." Kaidan gave a crooked grin.


	14. Chapter 14

MASS EFFECT: WINTER EYES

CHAPTER 14: OMEGA'S HELP

"How do you want to play this?" Garrus looked over at Liara as he exited their ship. The waves of travelers at the docks were all too familiar. His blue eyes desperately inspecting each person that walked by, hoping to catch a rare glance of Shepard. Years ago, Macha Shepard and her squad traveled to Omega to recruit one of their dossiers: Archangel. Now it seemed that Vakarian was back on the asteroid station to hunt her down. It wasn't simply that she was lost physically. Whatever, Charon did to her, made her lose her complete identity. He would not give up on her. There had to be some way to get her back. A task that would befall upon them once they acquired their target.

"We didn't get any points last time making our visit discreet. She still found out." Liara tossed back as she watched the crowd wearily. Multiple eyes were upon them, but which ones worked for Aria? It was hard to tell.

"If she's smart, then she already knows we are here."

"Yes. Direct approach?"

"You lead the way."

Liara trudged ahead, making her way through the crowd, squeezing her body between various forms. Her good-hearted nature made the daunting task difficult as she tried her best to avoid bumping into anyone and politely excusing herself as she maneuvered around stopped individuals who were trying to get their bearings. Garrus, on the other hand, adapted to the norm and pushed his way past many, not bothering with any pleasantries. He gained a few inches and was now at Liara's side. "Liara…" He squeezed out through his clenched teeth. "You are bringing the wrong attention on you."

"What makes you say that?" She glanced over at him.

A pair of obvious thieves were eying them. "Just tone the niceness down. Remember where you are." He replied lowly as he tried not to make eye contact with her. No one needed to know that they were together, but he wouldn't let her leave his sight.

After clearing the docks and making their way through the streets, they came across the vast open space that housed the Afterlife club. The pulsing rhythm of the music inside could be heard on the street and seemed to vibrate the metal exterior. Liara stopped near the line that formed to gain access. "How do we get in there?"

Garrus observed a batarian heading their way. He recognized him earlier to be Sh'sk, one of her top henchmen. "Looks like we don't have to worry about that."

The batarian, carrying an assault rifle, stopped a few feet away from their location. Both sets of eyes looking squarely on them. "Inside," he grunted.

"Glad to see Aria made this easy on us." Garrus joked lightly. Sh'sk replied with a curt nod and turned to lead them through the club's entrance.

The noise inside was deafening and it was hard for T'Soni to even talk to her friend as they were being escorted if she wanted to. Clubgoers eyed the special party, taking interest in them, before returning to their own individual conversations.

"This place hasn't changed." Garrus muttered under his breath as he eyed the multiple dancers at various places throughout. Their bodies provocatively dancing to the beat of the music.

Aria was sitting on her famed red couch with her legs crossed, enjoying a private dance from one of the entertainment workers when they approached. The worker eyed the duo and glanced Aria's way before excusing herself from the vicinity. "I see you learned your lesson." T'Loak was quick to her words. "Why are you back here?"

"We need your help." Liara decided it was best to let Aria have the upper hand this round to bolster their alliance. The space station was bigger than one would think, so they needed Aria's aid to find Shepard. After all, she knew all the various spots that she could hide.

"That so?" Aria sat up straighter on her couch. "Why should Omega care?"

"You _will_ care," Garrus jumped in, his words icy. "Shepard is part of Charon and we tracked her ship here."

"She is one of their assassins. She attempted to kill Miranda Lawson and Garrus. She fled the Citadel on a ship that was tracked here."

"Some hero," Bray chortled, as he stood nearby, listening in. "Didn't you say she was with Cerberus before, boss?"

"Yes, she was." Aria's interest picked up after hearing their full disclosure. She rose up from the couch to eye the crowd below. "What made Shepard join their cause?"

"We don't know," Liara admitted. "We think Charon manipulated her somehow."

"She's not herself. Shepard would never willingly join a group like Charon." Garrus spat.

"She joined Cerberus before on her freewill. Are you sure?" Aria turned to face him.

Garrus stared at her with his fists clenched. "I'm sure," he hissed.

"And you say she's here?"

"That we know of. I need a manifest of ships that docked and departed from Omega, Aria. I need to see if she stayed here or left for another location." Liara continued. Of course, she could hack Aria's systems to obtain this information herself, but if Shepard was still there, they needed Aria and hacking a potential ally's system was not the best way to approach their relationship.

A chirp sounded on Sh'sk's omni nearby that interrupted their exchange. "What is it?" Aria asked him.

"Incoming vessel flagged as Spectre." Sh'sk read the report. "Coming in hot."

Grimacing, Aria turned on the two before her. "You really need to learn to hide your mystery guests another way." She motioned with her head towards the direction of the dock. Sh'sk took note and stepped away from the platform. "It seems the Council wants to poke their business into the Terminus systems."

"It's Major Alenko." Liara admitted. "He was delayed by the Council or he would have been here with us."

"You think that wilding a Spectre is going to make me bend to your will?" Aria chuckled in amusement. "You cannot be that naive."

"There have been multiple attacks including one on a Quarian ambassador, Aria. The Council has a right to- "Garrus fumed by her difficulty.

"Are you now _threatening_ me, Garrus Vakarian?" Aria narrowed her eyes at him. "It would be unwise to proceed any further." The click of a gun from Bray's weapon made Garrus pause to see that her bodyguards were not liking where this was going.

"We didn't come here to start trouble, Aria. You know how important Shepard is. The Commander helped retake Omega from Cerberus. If she's on this station, then we need your help to find her." Liara butted in to try to smooth down the tension that was building up.

Aria stated at the two, as if she was contemplating what to do next. The air was thick with tension and the quietness made the whole ordeal awkward. Finally, she broke the silence, "Bray, check the manifests. Any ships land here?"

Bray lowered his weapon to work on the task on his own omni tool. His fingers dashed over the holo keyboard to search the data. "None recently flagged from the Citadel."

Whipping around at them, Aria glared hard. "What type of shit are you playing me for?" Liara and Garrus exchanged confused looks. Were they fooled? Did the ship give off a false destination? Was it already all planned? They failed to see how well orchestrated Charon was.

"They never meant to come here…" Garrus admitted the obvious. "Damnit. I should have known better!" His mind became a whirlwind. They were on Omega for no reason, invoking the wrath of Aria T'Loak while Shepard was becoming more distant from him. He was losing her.

"Easy, Garrus." Liara's soft comforting voice filled his ears. "We'll find her. We need to backtrack our steps again. Something we missed?"

"What does she look like?" Aria asked.

Liara gave a haphazard shrug. "Dunno. On Elysium, Garrus noted she had dark black hair. On the New Citadel, it was purple. She posed as a C-Sec officer. I'm not sure if she has altered her appearance anymore or not."

Seeing the silent order that Aria was giving him, Bray radioed in Sh'sk on his tool. "Shepard may have black or purple hair. I'll send you the old video feeds of her now to cross reference."

"_Got it_." Sh'sk replied on the other end.

"There's no reason why- "Aria began, but quickly was cut off by Sh'sk message coming through.

"_Shit. She's here_." A bit of fear could be traced in Sh'sk's words.

"What?" Aria raised her eye ridge, skeptical of the news. "Now?"

"You sure?" Bray asked, eying Aria worriedly.

"_I ran the damn scan. I'm about twenty yards. She's with a group of Suns working on a shipment. Match came back one hundred percent. She still has purple hair_."

"The Suns?" Garrus asked in disbelief. It didn't make sense to why she was hanging out with a merc group. Was it a ruse for another attack?

"Stay on her." Aria severed the connection with Sh'sk. She returned her focus to her uninvited guests. "Your trip was not in vain."

Liara looked over at Garrus. "Has to be a front."

"My thoughts exactly."

"Coming after you again, boss?" Bray chimed in.

"Let her." Aria snapped back without hesitation.

"You can't kill her!" Garrus turned on his heel to square off with the pirate queen.

"Garrus is right. We need to capture Shepard. Find out what they did to her." Liara agreed.

"Sh'sk will keep tabs on her. I want her here before you leave. If she steps one foot in this club without you, then she will be dead." Aria made sure her message was clear. She wasn't going to let her guard down. "Bray, go help Sh'sk."

"But- "The batarian began.

"I'll be fine. Better yet, stay with these two. I don't trust them." She could see the mixed feelings on their faces. "Let's just say... I want my interests protected."

Defeated, Liara sighed. They had to move to find Shepard and they had to do it on Aria's terms. "Just make sure that he doesn't lose her."

"I have my best people on her." The Asari replied assuringly.

Moments later after the group left, Sh'sk radioed into her comm. "_Aria_."

"What is it?"

"_I lost her_."

"Fuck. How the hell did you?" She tried to keep her voice from elevating too much to keep the attention away from her platform.

"More traders were coming in. The Suns were moving the cargo to the ship to load it up. Some got in my way. I thought she was helping them. When everything cleared out, she was gone. Even they were confused."

"Find her. Don't come back until you do."

"Where the hell did she go, Sh'sk?" Bray groaned in frustration at his friend's alert.

"_No fuckin' idea. I'm walking over this damn place trying to find her_."

"Should we go back to Afterlife?" Liara stopped in her tracks at the scary news. Was Shepard already on the move to whatever her new assignment was? The only possible target was Aria.

"Bray, go back to Afterlife." Garrus turned to address the batarian.

The four-eyed remained in place. "No, way. Aria gave me an order."

"And if Shepard goes back to the club to attack her, she may be dead."

Torn between what should be the proper thing to do, Bray knew that if Garrus was right, then he couldn't chance it. Grumbling, he turned to hurriedly makes his way back to the club. "You really think Shepard came to finish the job?" Liara asked the turian as she watched their escort leave.

Garrus thought back to Shepard's appearance with the Suns, and back to what he said to her on the New Citadel. He told her about their run-in on Omega and his codename as Archangel. Was it coincidence that she was back on the station and running with the Blue Suns or was it something more? He had to see for himself. "No…she's remembering…." His words trailed off.

"Remembering?"

Seeing the direction that would lead him to the Gozu district, Garrus took off in a sprint. "Go back to Afterlife! Just in case I'm wrong!" He called to the confused asari he left behind. He turned his head back around in the direction he was running. His old warehouse was in the Gozu district. What would he find there?

His mind replayed private memories. He could hear gunfire in his head and the frightened mercs yelling at him, "_Archangel! We will kill you!"_

He could see Macha Shepard running across the bridge in his direction. "Hang on, Shepard. I'm coming for you," he panted between breaths, pumping his legs faster.


	15. Chapter 15

MASS EFFECT: WINTER EYES

CHAPTER 15: Gozu

It didn't take much for Raven to discreetly leave the Blue Suns mercs at the docks. Another shipment flagged their attention and while they were busy talking to the deliverer, she used her tactical cloak to sneak away. Rushing through the winding streets, she allowed herself to uncloak when she reached a more secluded area of the station. The mercs' tale of Archangel on Omega years ago described his hideout to be at a warehouse on the Gozu district. Not familiar with the station at all, she had to rely heavily on the schematics of the station's layout from her omni tool. She couldn't risk asking locals. There were too many eyes and ears on the station and right now, she believed no one was onto her presence. She planned to keep it that way. Eying her tool to memorize the quickest route, she closed it down and took off; ignoring the looks of a few citizens that were walking the streets. Most of them appeared to be poor. A few humans had pink discoloration of their eyes pegging them to be dusters.

Not wanting to linger too long, she quickened her steps and reached back to discard the hair extension that she used for her mission on the New Citadel. The color was still the same purple tone and she still donned the same merc getup that she changed into once she left the New Citadel.

A few more blocks led her to the bridge that connected to the warehouse. Stopping at the bridge's entrance, Raven allowed her fingertips to brush up against the station's wall. Her eyes looked around at her surroundings. A sense of déjà vu was hitting her mind. What did it mean? "_Archangel!_" She could hear her own voice in her head calling out to an unknown person. She whirled around on her heel to see if anyone was behind her, but there was no one. "Fuck…okay. What the hell is going on?" Raven shook her head to clear her thoughts. Eying a salarian standing on the other side of the bridge, watching her carefully, she approached him. She wasn't going to brandish her weapon unless she needed to. The less attention to her location, the better.

The salarian appeared to be alone. He was dark green in skin color and missing a right arm. Her approach spooked him, and he stumbled to retrieve his pistol from his belt with his left hand. "Hold it!"

Stopping a few feet away, Raven held up her hands to show him no aggression. "Relax. I'm not here to hurt you if you cooperate."

"I-I have the Blue Suns' protection…t-they will know if you steal anything from my shipping center." His hand trembled as he held the weapon at her unsteadily.

She picked up on the many crates behind him that filled the warehouse at various points. With the Suns' involvement, there were many things that could be stored in the crates: black-market weapons, armor, rounds or even red sand. "I don't care about what you have. I just want to look around the warehouse."

He shook his head feverishly. "No way. You'll come back and get it. Now, go away!"

Rolling her eyes in frustration, Raven was in on him within seconds. She could easily kill him, but she curled her fingers into a fist and contacted the center of his face. The impact made him stumble backwards, before falling over onto his back. Clutching the small nostril on his face, the salarian cried out as his hand now had blood on it. "You broke my nose!" He screamed, his voice muffled by his hand that was also covering his mouth.

Raven gave a non-caring shrug. "You did it to yourself." She crouched down to get to his level and retrieved her M-6. Holding it up to allow him to see it, she smiled at him. "Don't make me use this, okay?"

The salarian angrily swatted her away with his hand. "Just go. Leave me alone! Do what you want. Just please don't take anything." He squirmed on the floor away from her, still nursing his face.

Tossing him a medigel pack from her sack, she stood back up. "I'll be quick. Take care of yourself." Stepping a few feet inside, she could hear distant gunfire in her mind and the sound of the rounds ricocheted off metal. Pivoting once more on her heel, she turned to look back in the direction she came in confusion. Becoming now aggravated with the phantom noises, she proceeded ahead.

Bray stopped a few streets back from the club and turned to look at Liara who also stopped to see what was going on. "My shift is up. Go on to the club. Aria will let you back in." He reached into his pocket to pull out a cigarette. Lighting up, he offered her one.

Politely declining with her hand, Liara looked towards the direction of Afterlife. "I'm glad I don't need a personal escort."

"Aria doesn't pay me enough to work over." Bray grunted as he ushered her along. He remained in his position and took a few puffs of the cigarette. His dark four eyes watching the asari move ahead. Once she cleared the corner, Bray snubbed out the cigarette with his boot and tapped his ear comm. "Aria?"

"_Yes. What is it, Bray?"_

"That turian, Garrus Vakarian, broke away. He was heading towards the Gozu district after Sh'sk lost Shepard."

Silence filled the comm for several seconds before the ruler of Omega responded, "_I knew it. They are hiding information from me. Where are you now_?"

"About three blocks from where the turian went. I sent that asari back towards the club. Thought you want me to tail him."

"_You know what to do_." The comm went dead again.

A burly bright yellow krogan with a brown head crest stood outside the ship's entrance as Kaidan Alenko stepped out. Accompanying the krogan was a batarian that had a deep facial wound that was poorly sutured. "That's far enough, Spectre," The krogan barked as he kept his shotgun pointed in his general direction.

Alenko stopped and held up his hands slightly. "Easy. I'm on official business from the Council."

"That doesn't mean shit to Aria," The batarian spat coldly. "We're checking your ship out."

"Be my guest." Kaidan stepped aside to allow them entry. After all, he had nothing to hide and he had to remain on Aria's good side if he was going to find out what happened to his friends who arrived on Omega prior to him.

"You, human, stand outside." The krogan barked at Miranda who was standing up from the ramp, still inside the ship.

"Tell your flunky to move, human." The batarian growled back to Kaidan.

"Flunky?!" Miranda growled at them.

"Easy, Miranda. Just let them check the ship out." Kaidan replied soothingly as he gently motioned her to comply with their strict demand.

Huffing, Lawson moved to the back of the ship where Kaidan was. Her heels clicking along the metal floor. The batarian stood nearby while the krogan moved deeper inside the vessel to make sure it was to his satisfaction. "Let's just get this over with." Miranda muttered under her breath.

"Hey! What are you doing in here?" The krogan's voice could be heard down the hallway.

Kaidan gave Miranda a worried look before he stepped forward to see what the commotion was. The batarian roughly blocked him with his gun and shook his head. "I'll handle it, human."

The krogan appeared moments later, pushing Tali along. "Found this quarian snooping around back there."

"Bosh'tet!" Tali hissed through her helmet.

The batarian glanced back at Kaidan in confusion. "This quarian yours?"

Picking up on that the henchmen had no idea who Tali was and that they had no idea who really Kaidan was other than a Spectre, Kaidan seized this opportunity to get at least one of them past the guards. "No. How did she get on here?!" He raised his voice with concern. "Did you purposefully put this quarian on my Spectre ship?!

Tali stumbled for her words and Kaidan could almost see the look of complete shock masked by her helmet. He just hoped that she would pick up on where he was going with this and play along. "I was hoping this ship would have something good to salvage!" She protested.

"Damn thief again," The batarian groaned in frustration and motioned with his head to the ramp.

The krogan roughly pushed Tali forward to exit the ship. "Get out of here, scum."

"Come back and I'll remove your helmet and make you breathe the good Omega air," The batarian tossed back threateningly.

Trying to pretend to be forced as much as possible, Tali protested, but allowed herself to be placed outside before the ramp closed, locking the other occupants inside. Giggling to herself from the amusement, she walked ahead to leave the area. "That Kaidan…I just hope I know where I'm going. Keelah…I have no idea."

Rounding the corner, Garrus came to the bridge that connected to his old hideout. He stepped back into the shadows when his avian eyes caught a glimpse of Raven standing near the overlook that was ahead. Luckily, she didn't see him. Thankful that Aria didn't bother to secure their weapons this time, he extended his Incisor rifle. The newly purchased rifle was not the same compared to the old model he carried for many years. He took out many geth, husks, rachni and whatever he fought on Feros against the Thorian. All fights brought back great memories and painful ones. Suppressing the urge to continue down memory lane, he lifted the rifle and used the scope to zero in on Raven's location. She was standing at the ledge now, deep in her own thoughts. Her mind oblivious to his location. His muscle memory had him placing his finger instinctively at the trigger, but he quickly removed it. He didn't want it to end this way. He needed to get through to her. "I have you in my sights, Shepard." He called to her from his location. It wouldn't matter if he gave it away. He had her pegged and hopefully, she wouldn't call his bluff. "I just want to talk."

Alarmed from hearing his voice, Raven quickly followed his voice to see a flash as the lighting bounced off the sniper rifle. Her body tensed up and her hand quickly moved towards her sidearm. "I wouldn't do that if I were you," Garrus said to her, making her hand freeze in place. "My finger is on the trigger and I'm a sureshot."

"Damnit…" Raven said through clenched teeth. How could she drop her guard so carelessly like that?

"I know you're still in there, Shepard." The turian continued from his spot. "I don't know what Charon did to you, but I'm a friend." Garrus felt beads of sweat form on his forehead as he held his breath. He could see her facial expression giving away her intention. Was she going to run? "Don't do it…. don't do it…" he huffed under his breath. Would she even risk it? Seconds later, her tactical cloak activated, and he lost sight of her! "Damnit!" Yet again, he forgot about her capability. Collapsing his rifle quickly, he put it back into its storing spot and took off in a sprint towards the warehouse. He knew all the odds and ends of the location. There was a way out through the basement. He just prayed that she wouldn't realize it. A one-arm salarian with a fractured nose saw him racing in his general direction, screamed and took off away from the warehouse. As soon as Vakarian was inside, he ducked as a round pinged the doorway. Retrieving his own pistol, he twitched his mandible as he eyed his surroundings. She was on the upper level and had the advantage. If she moved to a better spot, he would be fully exposed. He had to move or at least keep her pinned. Rising, he aimed the pistol and shot a few inches away from her location for a miss. As intended, this made her drop back down to take cover. Taking a moment to catch his breath, Garrus looked around for another location to move. "This takes me back," He muttered in between breaths. Deciding to downplay the seriousness of the situation, he smiled grimly up where Raven was. "Are we reversing roles this time, Shepard?" There was no response. No sound at all. Listening carefully, Garrus debated if he should lift up or move. Why was there no sound? What was she doing? Realizing what she had planned, he holstered his pistol within seconds of Shepard uncloaking in front of him. She was charging at him with her omni blade extended. Sidestepping to avoid, Garrus jumped out of his cover to take her on directly. "I don't want to hurt you, Macha!"

Raven growled as she stood there with her omni blade at her side. Her eyes narrowing at him. "What kind of game are you playing, turian? Why are you following me? Who sent you?"

"No one sent me."

"Then stop interfering or I will kill you."

"No, you won't do it, Macha."

"Why the hell are you calling me that? That's not my name."

"Damnit, Shepard. I know that's you in there."

"You don't know me."

"Yes, I do."

"What makes you certain?"

"Because I- "His voice elevated as the tension and frustration boiled inside him. He took a breath to slow him down. His fists bawled tightly at his sides. "Because I love you." His voice shook as emotions rocked him strongly like another rocket to the face.

Raven's purple eyes became wide as she stepped back from him. Suddenly, a sharp pain struck her head carrying a new intensity level unlike she ever endured before. Screaming out, she clenched her eyes tightly shut and dropped her weapon as both hands went to her temples to try to suppress the pain. In the darkness of her mind, an image of her and Garrus kissing in what looked like the quarters of a ship illuminated the void. The kiss was filled with desire and passion. Shaking her head to clear her mind, she tried to regain her composure and finally realized that she dropped her weapon. Moving to grab it, fighting off the pain, her effort was in vain as Garrus quickly kicked it further from her grasp. "Shepard? Are you still in there? Fight whatever they have to control you!"

"They are not controlling me!" She winced through the pain, breathing deeply, feeling the intensity slowly decreasing.

"Are you a clone?" Garrus tossed out. "Spirits, am I chasing another one?"

"What the hell are you talking about? You are not making sense, turian! I'm not a damn clone!"

Seeing her struggling, Garrus inched closer, ignoring the possibility of her stabbing him with her blade. "I'm not just a turian…" He churred softly in his throat to her. "I'm your badass turian boyfriend, Shepard. I told you that I would never let you slip away and I'm not going to let it happen now." He gingerly reached out with his talons to softly stroke the skin of her cheek. "I thought you were dead…." His words trailed off.

Suddenly, a click of an assault rifle from behind, made them both pause in their exchange to turn to see Bray standing there with a look of displeasure on his batarian face. "Well, well. Look what I found," He chuckled.


	16. Chapter 16

MASS EFFECT: WINTER EYES

CHAPTER 16: MASSANI

"Everyone that was with Cerberus at the end of the war is a total bust." Jacob Taylor explained to the group inside the comm room on their ship. His physical appearance didn't change since Miranda last saw him a few years back. "Brie reached out to everyone she knew, and I filtered out my contacts."

"Well, that's just discouraging," Miranda gave a sigh as she rubbed a hand through her hair in frustration. She sent a query out to her former teammate as they dug deeper into the investigation of Charon and the re-appearance of Shepard. Once they had Macha back, Miranda could help find a way to fix what Charon did to her. However, the actual research and analysis would take time and skills from someone in that area of expertise. She suspected the change had to be neurological. A dangerous area to just dabble in with guesswork. One wrong move could result in serious permanent brain defects. As she feared, most of the Cerberus staff were killed by Alliance raids or suicide. She reached out to Jacob to follow up while they were grounded. They needed to know where to go once they left Omega.

"There's one potential who left Cerberus before the war sparked," Brie came into the video. She was five months pregnant, but still managed to hold her well-shaped body. "I'm not sure if we should really trust him…his previous work is very concerning. I do have his last known location."

"Anything is worth a shot," Kaidan's voice perked up hearing the slight optimistic change of the news. "Where is he?"

"Grissom Academy."

Jacob took to the center again to get the full attention back on him. "I would be careful. I know what the Commander went through dealing with this guy the first time."

Miranda furrowed her brow as she picked up on who Jacob was referring to without the name disclosure. It was a risk and she wasn't sure if they should really trust him or not. "Thanks, Jacob. We'll talk to you soon."

"Anytime, Miranda. Good seeing you guys."

"A pleasure," Brie gave a small wave to the camera.

"Take care of your children," Kaidan grinned. "What is it? Three now, Jacob?"

"Yeah," the dark-skinned man chuckled. "Two girls…hoping this one is a boy. Brie won't tell me."

Brie pouted her lips playfully. "Where's the fun in teasing you, Jacob?" With that, the call disconnected.

For a moment, it felt like old times with everyone coming together for a common goal. Kaidan missed those days. He longed to be on the SR-1 once again with Captain Anderson at the helm, joining up with Shepard on Eden Prime. The mission that started their dark and winding journey. He seemed to get lost in his memories as he stood still. "Everything okay, Alenko?" Miranda picked up on his disconnection.

"Hmm? Yeah. I never worked much with you and Jacob. I missed out while I was stationed on Horizon. You seem like a good bunch."

"We were." Lawson pointedly corrected him.

"I wonder if Garrus and Liara had any luck. Hopefully, they met up with Tali. I don't want to be stuck here too much longer."

"Thought you were a Spectre."

"I am. I really don't want to chance a war with the Terminus. I must be careful. If I push too much, Aria won't mind threatening the Council."

"Shepard wouldn't stay around. That's what I liked about her. Defiant," The dark-haired woman chuckled at her private memory.

"You can say that again."

Amaranthine: Slaver's Bay

Zaeed Massani wiped the beer from his lips with the back of his hand as he moved to the back of Slaver's Bay to the designated restrooms. When he walked in, a gruesome discovery fell upon him. On the cold metal floor were two dead male turians: One with a severed head. Their midnight blue blood covering the flooring. Groaning loudly in disgust, Zaeed took a few steps away. "This place is such a pisshole."

Stepping around the corpses to avoid getting any of their blood on his boots, Zaeed moved to a urinal to relieve himself, before heading back to the bar. "You got two dead turians in there, Brachia." He grumbled to the three-eyed female batarian. "I thought you were going to clean this shitty place up."

"When did dead bodies bother you, Massani?" Brachia barked. "You fought along with that Spectre and now you want golden urinal to piss in? That it?"

"Just pour me another." Zaeed snapped as he held his right hand out to accept a fresh cup of ale. "When you going to fix your crappy face, Brachia? Can't believe you let those sons of bitches ambush you on Camala like that."

"When you going to stop making your face look so fucking ugly, Massani?" Pas'fador spat back as she poured him a glass.

Zaeed chuckled at her comeback as he took another swig. "I missed this place."

Brachia smirked at him. "At least with you here, I have someone to argue with. That female merc last night brought me some amusement."

"Those fuckers been in there since last night? Ugh…. what girl?"

The batarian shrugged. "I don't keep up with names. She came in looking for work. Probably killed those two in the bathroom if they were the same ones that were bothering her at the bar."

"Damn shame. When you going to have that mess cleaned up?"

"You want to do it?"

"No."

Avery sat a table nearby. She was dressed in a non-allegiant merc uniform with her almond color hair twisted in a braid. She arrived at Amaranthine a few hours ago and hit up the bar. She knew that she already lost Shepard, but someone must have seen what happened to her. Picking up on Zaeed, she recognized him to be one of her squadmates from the intelligence reports she reviewed prior to travel. Seeing him freely conversing with the bartender made her interested. With the atmospheric noise, it was hard to make out every possible word they were saying. Even with her audio recorder. She needed to get closer. Noticing their eye movement, she picked up on that part of the topic was about the two deceased turians in the bathroom. Avery also heard about this when she first entered the bar an hour ago. She didn't have to examine the bodies to realize that most likely their killer was Raven. Their descriptions in Slaver's Bay made her rule out a random act of violence. Their ends were met with a sharp object, like an omni blade. Picking her drink off the table, she moved to slide into the bar seat that was to the right of the old merc. "Hey, you going to clean up that mess?" Avery chimed in with a voice filled with authority. "I saw a salarian shit his pants. The smell is putrid."

"What are you? The cleaning inspector?" Brachia hissed at her.

"Go easy on Brachia. Her and I go back." Zaeed acknowledged Avery's presence, but didn't seem to really look at her.

"Further than I want to." Brachia offered to fill Avery's glass, who in turn, accepted it.

"Who did it?"

The bartender shrugged. "Some female merc. I was just telling Zaeed. Amusing. She left with two Suns shortly after she arrived."

"Where were they heading?"

"Contract?" Zaeed finally looked at her with his one good eye. His scarred face made his appearance even more appalling to Avery. She concluded that the only reason why he and Brachia got along so well was that they were both horrible to look upon directly. The old merc's breath reeked of ale.

Avery suppressed the urge to twist her face as she could smell his breath and body odor. As if the alien pheromones were not enough on her. "Yeah. My client has authorized me to give anyone five thousand creds to help track down her location," She raised her voice just enough to pick up on any prying ears. Competition could make these two in front of her talk faster than the long drawn out interrogation.

Massani was not impressed and grunted. "You keep talkin' like that and you will be robbed before you walk out of this place."

Avery grinned inwardly. She was trained in multiple styles of the martial arts. A fellow student of Kai Leng just like Erinyes. She just couldn't master them before his untimely death and Erinyes had a few more years on her. She never gathered the courage to ask to pickup her training from her new leader. The previous Cerberus and current Charon dossier on Zaeed Massani were very interesting and she wondered just how hard it would be to bring the old leader of the Blue Suns down. His reputation made him notorious to despise the batarian race and yet here he was sharing stories and drinks with a batarian bartender. She wondered if he was growing soft after working with Shepard like Miranda and Jacob or if he was becoming senile in his old age. "I'll take my chances."

Brachia finally broke her silence. "She left here with two batarian Blue suns. Most likely headed to the docks. After that, hard to say. I'm sure someone there can show you the way."

Avery considered this and nodded. She leaned over to swipe her credit chit to pay for the information. "Thanks for your cooperation." Lifting out of her seat, she smirked back at the pair. "My drinks are on him."

Zaeed's jaw dropped and Brachia snickered. "I like her. Pay up, Zaeed."

"Son of a bitch," The old merc swore under his breath.

Avery finally allowed herself to exhale after leaving the bar. The mixture of body odor, sweat, pheromones and what other bodily fluids infiltrated the bar's air were becoming overpowering. She quickened her pace to the docks. The quicker she got off the station the better. Eying a female turian dock worker ahead, she made a beeline to her general location. "You got a minute?"

"Not really," The turian stopped momentarily to see who was wanting her attention. Her facial appearance showed a brown face with white paint that striped her face and fringe. Facial markings were essential in houses and family names for the turians, but their meaning was of no more importance to the Charon operative. With her hinged legs, the turian continued her path with a datapad in her right hand.

Avery followed her. "I need to see if a woman came by here in the past twenty-four hours. She would have been accompanied by two Blue Suns mercs."

"Sorry. Can't help you there. I don't keep tabs on who leaves. I just watch shipments." The worker avoided eye contact as she acted as if she was checking crate numbers. Avery wasn't too sure if she was working on her daily required tasks or if she was trying her to best to appear busy in hopes that Avery would go on. Her stature was rigid and tense.

Deciding to let her credits do the talking, Avery pulled out her chit. "Do two thousand creds refresh any memories for you? I need to know exactly where they went."

This time, the turian paused in her work and turned to face her, her bony mandible twitching slightly. Her golden avian eyes staring right at Avery, contemplating the offer. Avery tried not to smile. She had her hooked! "They were here. Three thousand and I'll check the logs to see where the ship was heading."

Avery obliged with a swipe. The turian checked her omni to make sure the funds were transferred before searching her datapad. "Omega."

The operative frowned at the news. Not the place she was hoping, but then again, where else would the Blue Suns go anymore? Erinyes was not going to be happy. It was difficult to place agents on Omega. Aria T'Loak was fooled before by Cerberus and by Charon, she was not going to let it happen again. Erinyes was determined not to scrub her prized project yet. Chewing her lip, Avery debated if she should seek transport there herself or just head back to base. Deciding against the former, she moved back to her stationed ship to await her orders. It was completely suicide to her go to Omega solo.

Fifteen minutes later, she sat down behind the controls of her small craft and relaxed in the plush seat. Warming up the engines with a few finger swipes, she reached out to contact Charon. She couldn't wait until take-off. There were a few minutes of delay before finally the holo outline of Erinyes' face appeared on the console. Its form swayed slightly due to the interference. "Did you find her?"

"She left with two Blue Suns mercs to Omega."

"I see." Erinyes appeared rather calm given the news. Avery wondered if she already anticipated this or was she that cool-headed? "Thank you, Avery. Return here. We will have to move forward cautiously."

"Mam, if we leave her on Omega…"

"I'm well aware of losing her." Erinyes interrupted her. "An assessment that is always a risk. Sending operatives to Omega is unwise. We will have to find another way to get Shepard back."

"Understood."


	17. Chapter 17

MASS EFFECT: WINTER EYES

CHAPTER 17: LEAVING ON BAD TERMS

Hearing Bray's voice caused Garrus spin on his heel to face the batarian. His instinctive nature placed himself between their foe and Shepard. He wasn't about to lose her again. "Stand down, Bray. We are leaving."

"I don't think so." The batarian kept his rifle barrel directly on the pair. "You are in some serious shit. Aria doesn't like anyone screwing around with her."

"Who the hell is this asshole?" Raven tossed out to the turian as she glared angrily at the batarian.

"Bray. One of Aria's henchmen."

"Hah. Don't act like you don't remember me, Shepard." Bray spat coldly. "I was here when you helped Aria take Omega back from Cerberus."

"I don't remember that, and I don't remember you. Right now, I see a batarian who I'm going to kill if you don't put down that weapon." Shepard hissed at him.

"If you're smart, then I would listen to her, Bray." Vakarian encouraged him, not letting down his guard. He never did work with him on the mission to retake Omega. Aria wanted Shepard to be solo. His previous dealings with the four-eyed race were never pleasant and he didn't expect this one to be any different. Silently, he tried to read Raven's mind. One wrong move and one of them could have a round in their gut at their close range. Before Charon did what they did to her, Garrus could almost anticipate Shepard's moves during combat. He never had to wait for the order. He was there, on point. Their style was almost symbiotic. However, the woman next to him was familiar yet foreign. There was a block. Would she bold? He wondered if she would engage her tactical cloak to try to get the upper hand. The move was dangerous, and Bray could easily get frustrated and shoot him first. Taking out one of Aria's top people was also not wise. It wasn't like they were not on her bad side already. They were riding the line on breaking Omega's number one rule. A war with T'Loak was not recommended since not only were they dealing with Charon, but also holding back an angry mob of krogan. Shepard was instrumental in both situations. Departing Omega without her was not optional.

The batarian ignored her threat. "I don't give a fuck if you were the galaxy's savior or not. Aria wants to see you. I suggest you head to Afterlife now."

Raven gritted her teeth. Everything the batarian was stating was not making any sense to her. It was like he was talking about an entirely different person. Trying to figure out Vakarian with difficult enough and every time, she dove into her memory bank to solve the puzzle, her migraines flared. Curiosity wanted her to think more on what he was relaying to her, but she ignored the great temptation. Becoming mentally distracted was ill advised in their current predicament, plus another migraine would only put them in greater danger. "I don't know what he's talking about…." She muttered to the turian through her clenched teeth.

"I'll fill you in later…." Garrus whispered back. It seemed any escape from their state was hopeless at the present. "Shepard, what's the order?"

Raven blinked by his question and tilted her head in confusion slightly before looking Bray's way once more. "This is going nowhere. Stand down. Let's see what Aria wants," She spoke the last sentence louder. Her intentions were not even close to stepping foot into the club. She really didn't know who Aria was other than what was disclosed to her by word of mouth, but there was no time in dealing with her. She needed answers and she needed them now. Charon could be on their way to Omega. She wanted to put more distance between her and Erinyes until she could figure out exactly what was going on.

Bray smirked by her order. "Smart, Shepard. Go on." He motioned towards the club's direction with his rifle. "I'll follow you." He tapped his comm. "Aria, this is Bray. I have them both. I'm on my way back."

"_I'll have Sh'sk meet up with you. Don't lose them_."

Tali Zorah rolled her eyes as she noticed many of the residents on the station were eying her watchfully as she strolled down one of the streets away from the docks. Even with the quarian aid against the Reapers, her kind was still looked upon as vagabonds and thieves. Actuality, most species mingled with their populace, but the creation of the Geth still haunted the quarian race. The Geth's aid was instrumental as well in the war, but many still didn't care for the AI. Not being confident, Tali decided to stick with the heavier traffic and not take any backroads. Many opportunists wouldn't think twice on catching her alone, stealing what she had and puncturing holes into her envirosuit for kicks.

As she neared the club, her eyes were diverted, and she failed to see the stationary asari in front of her. Walking right into her, Tali nearly toppled over on top, but somehow managed to keep her footing. "Hey!" The asari shouted to her.

"Keelah. I'm sorry I-," Tali stopped herself, when she recognized the asari's voice. "Liara?"

T'Soni' s expression went from anger to joy when she saw her old comrade standing in front of her. She eyed onlookers and decided against the pleasantries. "Watch where you're going." Her tone bitter.

Catching on to her ruse, Tali grinned inside her helmet. Luckily, she had the upper hand for no one could see her face. "Don't stand in my way, asari."

Noticing the bystanders went on their way to ignore the rest of their conversation, Liara's bright blue eyes looked at her friend. "Goddess, I can't believe you are here," Her voice soft. "Where are the others?"

"At the ship. Aria's people won't let them out. Fortunately for me, they didn't believe I was part of their crew since I'm a quarian. Where is Garrus?"

"I think he had a lead on Shepard. He went to get her…I just hope he finds her before Aria's people do."

"Well, if she's on this station, he will find her. He knows Omega better than any of us."

"I agree. If he held out against mercs, I know he can handle one batarian."

Step…step…step step…step…step…step step. Garrus methodically quickened his pace to get nearer to Raven without arousing suspicion from Bray. He made it out like he normally walked quicker than she did. A chill went up Raven's spine as she could feel the turian's warm breath at the back of her neck. "Wait for my signal." Vakarian kept his voice low as his blue eyes glanced around. He recognized their location too well. He often walked the streets to get a sense of the layout before he bunkered down at his warehouse as Archangel. Only a fool would box himself without knowing all escape routes and places for his enemies to flank him. Up ahead to his right would be a side street that led to a run-down housing district. The width was narrow, which prevented a lot of foot traffic. The corridor zig zagged intersecting different streets and if you found the right one, you could easily make it back to the wide area of the station near the docks. With only one batarian, the percentage of high casualties was low and Garrus was confident that they could lose Bray if the first part of his plan was a failure. He had to get Raven to the ship; that was his priority. Once she was there, she would be in the hands of Liara and the others and further away from Charon.

Raven bit her lip as she kept her eyes forward. She had no idea what Garrus had in mind for them. "We can take him," She said under her breath.

"There's a ship waiting for you, Spectre class."

"Spectre?" The title caused a slight elevation in Raven's tone and she caught herself before she let it slip out too loudly for Bray to pick up on.

"You need to get on that ship. I'll deal with this guy."

The idea of being pushed off to more people she didn't know, didn't set right with Raven. She was one hundred percent too comfortable with him, but he was somewhat familiar or, so he claimed. She stubbornly shook her head. "I thought you said we were a team, Garrus."

Hearing her voice becoming defiant, made Garrus crack a smile on his lips. "Heh, just like old times." For a slight second, he almost felt like the situation was different. He and Macha were on Omega dealing with whatever mission the Alliance tossed her way.

Bray noticed Garrus' proximity to Raven and scowled. "Hey!" He barked to the pair. "No funny business up there. I'll shoot you dead in the street."

"There's a street up ahead to your right. Go down that three blocks until you see a volus wine merchant. Take a left and then your first left. It will put you closer to the docks. As soon as I make the move, run." Garrus spoke fast and low as he placed more distance between him and Shepard to comply with the order. Noticing the street ahead that Garrus described, Raven nodded her head slightly to acknowledge what he said. Slowing his pace more, Garrus came to an almost halt, causing Bray to stop shortly in confusion. "Raven!"

Hearing his voice, Raven broke out in a mad sprint, pumping her legs fast. Seeing Shepard racing away from them, Bray moved around Garrus to aim his assault rifle at her. Soon as he was side by side with the turian captive, Garrus used his height advantage and utilized the bony point of his left elbow to hit Bray square in the head. The impact caused Bray to fire recklessly into the vicinity as his fingered squeezed the trigger on the riffle. Rounds ricocheted off structures and took out several news vid screens. Sparks flew from the electrical wiring exposed. Regaining his footing, Bray growled at the surprise attack and moved to hold his rifle towards Garrus. Taking his left boot, Garrus kicked the rifle out of the batarian's hands and rushed at him, knocking them both into the wall of a building. Garrus' talons held tightly down on Bray's armor as he used his bicep muscles to push as hard as he could to keep the batarian pinned.

Wiggling against the restraint, Bray seized the opportunity and kicked Garrus in his abdomen with the heel of his right boot. The turian jumped back to put more distance to prevent further damage. Not letting up, Bray curled his fists and swung at Garrus' face, missing with one and impacting with a right cross punch. The blow made him stumble backwards and his face throbbed. Bray moved to pick up his gun, but Garrus tackled him again to the ground once more. If the batarian regained his weapon, it was game over. Using his strength, Bray rolled, pinning Garrus on the floor and reached for a knife that was fastened on his armor's back plating.

Seeing his opportunity while the batarian's weight shifted in the process, Garrus placed both feet under the batarian's and held onto his arms tightly. He lifted Bray up and threw him over his head, slamming his body hard into the structure's side once more. Leaping up, Garrus picked up Bray, who was still down on the ground dazed, and slammed his head into the wall again. The strike caused him to lose consciousness and the batarian slumped down to the ground. Leaning down to take his pulse, Garrus was satisfied to know that he didn't kill the poor bastard and then moved quickly to catch up with Raven. He prayed silently as he ran that she would follow his order and not use the time to elude him once again. He had to alert Liara. "Liara! This is Garrus. Please tell me that you're not at Afterlife."

"_Garrus!_" Liara happily replied seconds later. "_I was worried. Is everything alright?_"

"Yes, I had to deal with Bray. Raven is heading to the ship."

"_Our ship_?"

"I'm hoping she is. She's on our side so don't attack her. At least I hope she is. Just get there before Aria is onto us." He severed the connection as he darted around residents who were walking to and from their homes. His haste caused alarm and confusion among them and some leaped to get out of his way.

Liara turned to look at Tali after her call with Garrus. "Raven is on her way! We need to get back to the ship."

Tali took to her side as the pair moved back towards the dock. "Aria's men are there. What are we going to do? My shotgun is on the ship."

"I can handle them." Liara said knowingly.

"Hey! Stop right there." A batarian gruffly called to them as he stood to block their path. Liara recognized him to be Aria's another top minion: Sh'sk. He was aiming an assault rifle at them. "Aria doesn't like to be stood up."

"We were just leaving." Tali growled.

"I don't think so." Sh'sk shook his head. "Not until Aria says you can leave. Now move your asses to Afterlife."

"How cordial," Tali sarcastically said to her friend.

"We don't have time for this." Liara gathered dark energy and unleased a throw attack. The biotic display lifted Sh'sk several feet from the ground, then tossed him like a ragdoll into a nearby vendor store, crashing into the shopkeeper and the kiosk. Grabbing Tali's hand, Liara raced towards their destination. "Move!"

Seeing a disturbance in the travelers and dockworkers ahead, Kaidan stepped away from the ship's ramp to see what the commotion was. One of Aria's men pushed him back roughly with his hand. "Far enough, Spectre."

Glaring at the krogan, Kaidan darted his brown eyes around the burly alien to see the crowd departing like the red sea revealing Liara and Tali coming at them in a beeline. Alarmed, Kaidan looked back up the ramp to where Miranda was inside. "Miranda! They're back!"

The krogan caught onto the urgency of the situation but was still confused as to what was going on. "No funny business," He growled.

Liara used dark energy to lift the five hundred-pound krogan off his feet easily, making him helpless in the air. Kaidan seized the opportunity to administer his own biotic attack on the other guard, causing him to fall over the dock's railing and into a dark abyss. "Where's Garrus and Shepard?" Kaidan asked his friends as they approached, ignoring the bulky krogan still hanging in the air.

"Get me down!" The krogan bellowed.

"On their way! We need to get the ship ready to go!" Liara ushered Tali inside. "Help Miranda!"

"Stay on my six." Kaidan narrowed his eyes as he gazed out into the crowd. They had to expect an ambush.

Liara eagerly watched the crowd. "Come on…where are you?" She mouthed as she hopefully looked to Garrus and Raven. Seconds later, she noticed the lean turian making his way towards them. Her heart lifted then sunk, when she realized that Raven was not with him.

"Garrus! This way!" Kaidan motioned to him. There didn't seem to be any of Aria's men on him.

"Where's Shepard?" Liara desperately searched the crowd. Was their effort in vain?

Garrus cringed as he looked around in shock. "Damnit! I knew she was coming!"

"Guys…we can't linger here any longer. Aria will be here." Kaidan clenched his teeth as he looked back at his ship nervously.

"We have to wait for her! We are not leaving her!" Liara shook her head feverishly.

"I'm already here." Raven spoke as she uncloaked herself, standing on the ramp, looking upon them with a mixture of distrust.

All three spun around to look at her excitedly. "Shepard!"

"You said something about wanting to leave Omega, right?" Raven moved inside the ship. The reunion would have to wait.

Liara followed her with Kaidan and Garrus right behind her. "You know Aria won't let us come back after this." Garrus muttered to the man beside him.

"Good. I hate this place," Alenko moved over to shut the doors once everyone was inside.

Finding his footing, Sh'sk raced out of the store, ignoring the pain in his body. He had to get to them before they left. He had to get back up! "Aria, this is Sh'sk. They are moving to the docks!"

"_Fuck! Where the hell is Bray_?!" Aria's voice angrily shouted to him.

"No fucking idea. I haven't heard from him."

"_Radio the guards at the docks. I'm coming there myself. I'm tired of this shit_." The comm ended quickly.

Sh'sk switched over to the frequency of the guards. "This is Sh'sk. Watch your asses. They are heading your way." No response. "Answer, damnit!" Still silence. Angrily, Sh'sk quickened his pace, shoving citizens roughly out of his way.

"_Sh'sk! This is Bray_!" A familiar voice chimed into his ear piece.

"Where the hell have you been?!" Sh'sk growled at him.

"_That turian bastard must have knocked me out. I'm in Gozu. Damn, my head is killing me_." Bray groggily said on the other end.

"They are going to the docks and if they leave, your head will be the least of your worries when Aria is done with you." Sh'sk firmly reminded him.

"_I'm moving. Just keep them there_."

Miranda managed to override the magnetic locks and their ship broke free of its holding. "Let's hope Aria doesn't order her canons to take us out." She grimly said to her colleagues who were standing in the cockpit to watch the action unfold.

"If she does, then she will spark a war with the Council." Kaidan gritted his teeth.

"Like she cares," Garrus rolled his eyes. "Aria would go to war with the whole galaxy to keep Omega." He gave a side-glance over to Raven, who stood there, listening intently, but keeping to herself. It felt good to have her there, but things just were not the same.

"Where are we going?" Tali asked as the orange hue of the Omega lights filled their viewing port as they exited the station's outer rim.

"Grissom Academy." Miranda didn't look her way as she answered. Her fingers dashing over the controls to pilot the ship.

Kaidan nervously stood there as he watched her. "Are the canons armed?"

"Yes."

"Too bad Liara couldn't recruit Joker for this. We need a pilot right about now."

"I agree," Miranda muttered. "I just manned shuttles and that was rare when I worked with Cerberus."

"Put him on the list when we return." Alenko suggested.

Garrus eyed a large transport ship to their portside. "Miranda, head for that ship's vector."

"Why?" Liara looked his way, noting that the ship was not on the same route as the relay.

"She knows we will be heading to the relay."

"Garrus, we need to keep going straight. Remember, Ilos? If we can avoid Geth armatures, and Geth troopers, then we can make this."

"We also had the Mako," Garrus reminded her. "She will expect us to head directly there. Her canons will be aimed in the same direction. The ship's speed will not give us enough time to get out of their range."

Kaidan glanced back at Raven, noting her to be quiet through all of this. "What's the order, Shepard?" All eyes looked her way.

Raven flinched as the question caught her off-guard. "What? Why me?"

"Head to the relay or use the ship as a shield?"

"If we use that ship, we could sacrifice hundreds of lives if it's fully staffed." Tali wrung her hands sadly.

"Aria won't hesitate twice on that." Liara reminded them.

"Sometimes you have to risk it. I learned that when dealing with Dr. Saleon and Sidonis." Garrus argued.

"I need an answer!" Miranda shouted over their debate. "Shepard? You have always been in command. We will follow you. What's the order?"

Aria stormed into the docks to see Sh'sk, Bray and a few others standing there at the empty berth where the Spectre ship was docked. Her purple eyes narrowed angrily at the two batarians. "You lost them…." She hissed venomously.

"They are not out of canon range yet." Bray reminded her hopefully.

"There are tons of ships in orbit. Busy shipping week." Sh'sk pointed out.

"Fuck them. Fire the damn canons! I'll remind them who they are dealing with." Aria snapped back at them.

Bray opened his omni tool to reach a connection to the station's security team. "Lock on the Spectre ship and bring it down!"

"_Acknowledged_," A salarian male's voice replied on the other end.

A loud whir could be heard as the closest canon to their general location turned to the desired coordinates. Aria stared hard at Bray as she waited for the confirmation of the kill since the explosion would not be heard in the vacuum of space.

"They are locked on!" Miranda announced in a panic.

"Take your seats! This is going to be bumpy!" Kaidan shouted to the team.

Raven moved to the seat next to Miranda and strapped herself in while the rest moved to the crew hold. "Head to the relay, Miranda and punch it all that you have. I'm not risking casualties."

"Understood, Commander." Miranda continued their course. "I really miss the Normandy right about now."

"I wish I could remember that," Raven glumly replied. "Increase kinetic shields as much as you can."

"I would have to route power from other systems in order to do that."

"I think we can live without some of them. I want to make it out of here alive."

"Rerouting power. Shield capacity increased."

Liara smiled warmly to the three others that were sitting near her. "It's good to have the Commander back."

"If she's on our side," Alenko reminded her.

Her decision against his, threw Garrus off. In their earlier days on the SR-1, he mused with her about the time he tried to catch Dr. Saleon as he fled the Citadel. C-Sec told him to back down due to the risk of casualties. Garrus was against this and their decision made him lose the salarian butcher doctor. He loathed Citadel Security after that and jumped on his one time shot to work with the Spectre Commander Shepard. During their time in seeking Saren, Macha told him that she agreed with his decision on getting Dr. Saleon no matter the cost. His escape would ultimately lead to the deaths to even more innocent victims. C-Sec didn't see this, but he did and so did Shepard. Yet, her current decision contradicted everything he thought she believed in. Was she truly the same woman?

Suddenly the ship rocked violently as a canon blast hit the starboard side of their rear flank. "Shields down to sixty percent! Two more hits like that and we are dead!" Miranda yelled as the alarms began to blare.

"How soon are we out of their range?"

"Twenty seconds!"

Ten seconds later, another direct blast on their left side from another canon. The ship rocked again. "Move your ass, ship!" Raven yelled to the vessel, ignoring the wails of the alarms like banshees.

"Shields down to twenty percent!"

"We will make it!"

"Locking onto relay signature now. Setting in coordinates." Miranda used her right hand to multitask. "You know I hate working under pressure like this."

"Deal with it."

"Out of range!" Miranda shouted triumphantly. A cheer exploded in the crew hold from the good news.

"I'm going to have a new ship," Alenko muttered playfully. "I don't think the Council will like that."

"You said something about going to Grissom Academy?" Raven finally allowed herself to relax a little. "Isn't that like a school for biotic children?"

"Yes. You remember that place?" Miranda looked her way.

"Should I?"

The ex-Cerberus operative's face faltered. "We can discuss that later. There's someone there who I believe can help your condition."

"Who?"

"Dr. Gavin Archer."

"That lunatic?" Garrus picked up on the conversation and tossed the question to the others with him. "There has to be another way."

"Jacob thinks he is the ideal choice." Liara replied soothingly. "May be the only choice."

The turian shook his head. "He tortured his innocent brother for the Illusive Man by hooking him up to the Geth. Look what he did to him."

"We won't let him hook Shepard up to anything." Kaidan argued. "We will all be there to make sure that doesn't happen."

Miranda listened in on their conversation from where she sat. "Any of this coming back to you, Shepard?"

"No," Raven sighed. "To be honest, I don't know any of you. I don't know if I should trust you. I don't know what the hell is going on." She cupped her face in pure mental exhaustion.

"Charon won't find you there. The further you are away from them, the better."

"You really think they will come after me?"

"Depends on who exactly we are dealing with."

"Erinyes," Raven disclosed.

"Well, if she's anything like the Illusive Man, then there's a good chance, they will. I'm surprised he didn't come after you the first time when you distanced yourself from Cerberus. He invested way too much money into you."

"Invested? Who the hell is the Illusive Man? I vaguely know of Cerberus."

Alenko grimaced hearing Raven's confession. "Just how long will this take?"


	18. Chapter 18

MASS EFFECT WINTER EYES: CHAPTER 18

THE OLD TEAM

"Good to have you onboard, Spectre Alenko." The Grissom Academy security officer snapped to attention as he greeted the occupants of the shuttle that just arrived.

Kaidan smiled as he exited the shuttle first. "Thank you for the warm hospitality." Behind him were Liara, Tali, Miranda, Garrus and Shepard. "Glad to see that the academy is doing well since the attack. As a fellow biotic, I feel better knowing these students are being well taken care of."

"They are always my students," Kahlee Sanders warmly reminded the group as she approached them. Her flat heels tapping the metal flooring with the sounds echoing off the sterile glossy walls. "I lost more than I should have from Cerberus and the war with the Reapers."

"Losing them is never easy, "Liara gently commented. "Fighting is better than giving in."

The blonde woman's gaze bounced eagerly over to Raven. "Commander Shepard…when Kaidan said that you were recovered, I was skeptical. Anderson always believed in you and your resilience. I guess he was right after all."

Raven looked straight through Kahlee. The identification was not there. "Thank you, Miss…"

The statement took the woman aback. "Kahlee Sanders…David Anderson spoke very highly of you. You came to my aid when Cerberus attacked Grissom Academy to capture my students."

"I'm sorry..." Raven's face still was expressionless as the memory call was not present. "I remember Captain Anderson, but I don't know anything else about what you are telling me."

"We think that Charon did something with the commander's memories. Some kind of amnesia. That's why we came here to speak with Doctor Gavin Archer."

"Yes," Sanders blinked to regain her composure. "Of course. I will also notify Jack that you are here. She will want to see you."

"Where is Jack?" Garrus piped up.

"Teaching a class."

"How are you doing, Kahlee? My sympathy goes out to you. I didn't know Admiral Anderson for very long, but he was a good man." Tali gently expressed her condolences.

"Yes. It's not the same without him around." Liara agreed.

Kahlee lowered her eyes sadly. "I do miss him," She laughed lightly. "We were apart for so long and I was so devoted to my students, that it almost feels like we are on the break again. That he's somewhere on the New Citadel, dealing with politicians the best way he knows how."

Kaidan chuckled at her memory. "Dealing with them is never pleasant. I think he would have taken missions against the Geth over that."

"He was a fighter for sure."

"Anderson was a politician?" Raven spoke up in confusion. She shook her head in doubt. "That doesn't sound right. He was a soldier. How did he wind up working like that?"

Garrus grinned at her. "Well, you recommended him, Shepard."

"I did? Shit…" Raven sighed. "This is getting too strange. I don't even want to try to remember all that you guys are talking about right now. The migraines are not pleasant."

"If you guys are ready, I can take you to the neuro lab that Dr. Archer is working in. He has been instrumental in our advances of the implants. There has been fewer side effects and less harm to the children. Especially for the younger ones." Kahlee turned to guide them along the way.

"Before we go, I need to reach Urdnot Wrex on Tuchanka," Liara jumped in to stop the group before they followed. The idea of finally getting back Macha did cloud their minds, but the war between the turians and the krogan was still not over. The standstill would be coming to an end. "Shepard, I will need you to come with me. Wrex will want to see you."

"Um, sure." Raven paused.

"I'll come too. I want to see the look on Wrex's face." Garrus took to Raven's side.

"Very well. We pass the communications room along the way. I'll notify the staff there to grant you access. The others can go on to the lab with me." Sanders explained as she proceeded forward once more with the group of five in tow.

"I can speak with Dr. Archer on his thoughts. With my knowledge of the Lazarus Project, I could provide insight." Miranda suggested.

Raven whispered to Garrus as she walked along beside him, "What the hell is the Lazarus Project?"

There was a five second delay and then the blurry image of Urdnot Wrex came through on the vid screen in front of the trio in the communications room. "Just a moment," A staff member nearby spoke up from their workstation. "There is radiation interference. I will try to clear it up." Moments later, the image visibly showed the look of their old krogan friend.

"I have to hand it to you, Liara," The burly dark yellow skin krogan began. "You had an hour left. Had me worried that for once you were not going to come through."

"Your troops still stationary?" Garrus breathed a sigh of relief. They made it!

"Of course, they are, Garrus," Wrex snapped at him. "I stand by my word unlike the turians."

Liara held up her hand to quiet him. "Easy, Wrex. It took several months for you and Garrus to finally get along when Shepard first recruited you. I don't want to revert to that again." Her blue eyes flashed back to where Raven stood out of sight. "We recovered Shepard." She gently motioned the commander to step forward into the camera's capture range.

Wrex eyed her cautiously and his upper lip curled, revealing his sharp incisors. "Shepard? You've changed."

"We've worked together before?" Raven asked.

The krogan's face grimaced. "You don't know me? After all we've been through."

"Shepard has trouble remembering most of us." Liara pointed out.

"Well, I can understand trying to forget Garrus," The krogan teased, glad to get another jab at the turian. He shrugged. "I guess you humans are not very picky."

"Jealous, Wrex?" Garrus smirked at him teasingly.

"You sure she's not another clone?" Wrex quickly changed the tone of the conversation. "I thought you said that Charon was Cerberus."

"Charon is affiliated with Cerberus or at least was we believe," Liara paused briefly, hoping that it would encourage Raven to divulge what knowledge she had on the organization since she was working in their ranks. Her ex-commander's silence made her continue defeatedly. "We also believe that they did something to her to alter her memories."

"I wouldn't put it past them." Wrex muttered as he listened in attentively. His red eyes met Raven's once again. "So, Shepard. We in this again. The krogan and the turians are on the brink of war. The krogan deserve a chance to expand their population just like all the others. The turians attacked a colony, killing many of my kind including several of my children." A beat. "And Eve."

"That's speculation, Wrex," Garrus growled in annoyance. "Charon clearly was involved to set up the turians."

"Your guess."

"Wrex- "

"Shepard," Wrex continued, cutting off the turian's argument. "I have stood by your side during difficult choices: Dealing with the Rachni Queen, Virmire and curing the genophage."

"I have no idea what you are talking about…." Raven sighed hard.

"Doesn't matter. I still want your opinion. Do the Krogan deserve a right to expand like all the others? Or do you believe that Charon was involved?"

"I cannot speak to Charon." Raven began pessimistically. "If Erinyes made the order, then it was a group that I was not working with. There are many agents. Most of us work alone. Erinyes trusted me…as most as I can tell…she never brought up an open war between the two species or the need to cause for one."

"Aha!" Wrex's eyes twinkled as his voice boomed over the mic. He switched his glance over to Garrus who seemed to be slightly squirming in his stance. "I knew it, Vakarian. Your people are using the group to hide your intent. You are no better than the salarians who concocted the genophage. After all, it was your kind that planted a bomb on my planet to kill us all."

"Wrex, we already addressed that!" Vakarian raised his voice to him. "I know it was a bad idea, and we took care of it."

"Yes, after Cerberus found it!"

"Enough!" Liara moved to the front of the camera with dark aura glowing around her sleek frame to block the krogan's vision from the others. "Wrex, we are not having this discussion. I brought you, Shepard, will you withdraw from the attack?"

"Shepard is not herself! How do you even know it's her?" He hissed at the asari.

"Because I believe it is!"

Becoming frustrated by the whole ordeal, Raven moved Liara aside and stood in the center to square off with the krogan leader once more. "Listen, I don't remember you and maybe one day I will. You asked me my opinion. I remember dealing with the batarian raids after the humans began to expand and colonize their planets. I wasn't involved with all the political backroom talks, but it didn't go well. We became a hated race for the batarians and a target for slave runs. I didn't come across many krogan from what I can remember, but your race was respected for your brute strength. Going up against your forces would be ill advised. If Charon is playing dirty, then we need to stop Erinyes, together."

"No way." Wrex shook his head. "We stepped aside our differences to aid races before and got screwed. The Krogan earned their right…to grow once again."

"And you will." Raven assured him. "We can make it work. If you believed in me before, then I need you to do it again, Urdnot Wrex."

"Wrex, come on." Garrus urged him gently. "Since I knew you, I never wanted any more harm to your kind. I was there when the genophage was cured, remember? I had to fight that thing."

"Kalras," Wrex chuckled. "I would have enjoyed seeing you piss your pants, Vakarian."

"Kalras?" Raven looked back at Liara in confusion.

"Large thresher maw." The asari smiled at her.

"Thousands of krogan were killed during the last rebellion. I don't need to lose a thousand more. Alright, Shepard. You made your point. I agree to hold my troops and not advance. Let's work on getting you back and go after this human."

"Erinyes. She's a woman." Raven corrected him.

The krogan didn't blink by this. "Fine. Let's go after this bitch."

"I will inform the Primarch of the same," Garrus noted.

"You better." Wrex firmly reminded him. "They attack us again and this time, there will be no standing down.

"Shepard," Liara turned to face her. "Do you have the coordinates for Charon's headquarters?"

Raven remained guarded by the question. Her fists stood by her sides as she looked at each of them questioningly. "No offense. I'm like the new guy right now. I don't trust any of you…" She gave a side glance over to Garrus. "Let's talk to this Dr. Archer first. See what he can tell me. If there is something wrong with me."

"Keep me posted, Liara. Wrex out." The krogan signed off the connection.

"I can understand wanting to forget Wrex," Garrus joked lightly after their friend was gone. "Do you recall anyone else on your team?"

Raven shook her head. "Not at all. I want to remember, Garrus, or at least figure this out. Who all was on my team?"

"Well you met some of us already," Liara began as she led them out of the room to join up with their colleagues in the neuro lab. "Kaidan Alenko, Tali, Miranda Lawson, Urdnot Wrex, myself and Garrus."

"Then there was Jack," Garrus began.

"The one that Kahlee said that works here?"

"Yes. Along with Thane, Mordin, Grunt, Samara, Kasumi, Zaeed, Jacob, Legion, EDI, James, and of Javik."

"What happened to all of them?"

"Thane died during a murder attempt of the Salarian council member by Kai Leng, Mordin died while curing the genophage, Grunt and his krantt do scouting missions for Wrex, Samara went back to the temple to help young Ardat-Yakshi who were not killed by Reaper forces, and Jacob is assisting us in a remote location."

"We lost contact with Kasumi," Liara picked up. "Legion sacrificed himself to find a peaceful solution to end the quarian and geth war. EDI and Joker are hitting it up on Berkenstein, James went into the N7 program after the war and I think he's still in the Alliance. And Javik…..." The asari became very quiet by the sheer mention of the name.

Raven could see the pain on her face. "Who was he?"

"He was a prothean…the last living one. We awakened him from cryostasis before Cerberus could find him. He dedicated himself to seek vengeance against the Reapers for the decimation of his race.

"Where is he now?"

Garrus could see that Liara was becoming emotionally torn to speak further. During the end of the war, Liara and Javik became close and he almost wanted to think they were romantically involved. Garrus was hopeful with their victory that despite on losing Shepard, that she would at least find happiness. Instead, Javik committed suicide on his own terms. He insisted that he wanted to join his ancestors despite what attraction he had with Liara, even though, at their first encounter, he called her a "primitive." Liara begged him not to go through with it, but she understood his reasoning why. Vengeance was his goal and the only thing driving him with the loss of his kind. He felt alone despite having Liara nearby. She could not provide him happiness and he mourned for his family. They finally said their goodbyes, before he took his last breath. "He took his own life after the war, Shepard."

"Oh…." Raven became quiet as she went through all their answers, noting that they left someone else off. "What about Zaeed? Who was he?"

"A mercenary. Ex-Blue Suns founder. He ran off shortly after the war. I haven't heard from him- "

"Shepard! There are you! Where the hell have you been?" Jack's familiar voice calling to the group made Garrus stop talking.

The trio turned to their right to see Jack coming to greet them at the intersecting hallway. She was dressed in a sleek maroon uniform, covering up much of her prized tattoos. Her hair was down to her mid shoulders. A standout from her first appearance. Garrus and Liara's eyes became wide, hardly recognizing her, stunned by the total transformation. "Jack?" Garrus couldn't stifle in a laughter. "Is that seriously you?"

"Shut the fuck up," Jack narrowed her eyes at him quickly.

"That's Jack alright." Liara smirked. "I thought last time you said that the staff at Grissom wanted you to watch your language."

"They say a lot of shit to me. I can talk like this now. My students are not around." The woman looked over at Raven. "You're quiet, Shep. I see you found Garrus already."

"Nice to see you, Jack." Raven felt awkward by the reunion. She had no clue on who the woman was in front of her. Her black hair and smiling face were foreign to her. She decided to try to become reacquainted with her. "You been teaching here for a while with Kahlee Sanders?"

Jack's jaw dropped. "Hell no."

"Shepard is having trouble recalling memories, Jack. We believe that Charon did it to her."

"Shit." Jack groaned. "I heard that Cerberus was like them. They did some mess up things to me. Never wanted it to happen to anyone again." She sighed once more. "Look, Shepard, ex-convict. Found me on Purgatory, got out, busted a few heads. Good stuff."

"Excuse me?" Raven nearly choked on her saliva when she heard the woman's backstory. "Convict?"

"Maybe another time, Shepard. We should see Dr. Archer." Garrus gingerly ushered along to the lab.

"Come see me when you get your memory back!" Jack called to them.


	19. Chapter 19

MASS EFFECT WINTER EYES: CHAPTER 19

PROJECT OVERLORD

A man with light red hair turned to greet the group inside the neuro research lab of the station. He branded a Grissom Academy staff uniform and Raven noted that he appeared to be uneasy of their approach. "Good to see you again, Commander Shepard." His voice shook as he extended his right hand in greeting. She accepted the handshake. "I'm glad that the circumstances of our meeting now are on our better terms than before. I can't thank you enough for giving me mercy and allowing me to atone for what I did to David. He will never be the same following the Overlord Project, but he progresses positively each day among the other students."

Garrus stayed beside Raven and could tell that Raven was having difficulty processing everything that the man in front of her was relaying to her. He leaned to his left to put his mouth closer to her right ear. "He was experimenting with his autistic younger brother and the Geth." He whispered to her, hoping to provide clarity. His beady eyes glared angrily at Dr. Archer. "Subjecting him to intrusive procedures that no being should ever endure in the name of Cerberus." He allowed his voice to raise to where his last statement could be heard by all, especially Gavin.

The news was appalling to Raven, and she shook her head in surprise and resentment. "I can't believe I allowed someone like you to live. I'm vague against our opposition and the Geth, but turning your back on a fellow human being, especially your family, is unforgiveable." She unholstered her pistol and aimed the barrel straight at the man's forehead.

Her sudden move caught everyone off-guard and the room sprang into a panic! Liara grabbed her arm to deter her from the foreseeable next action. "Shepard, wait!"

Dr. Archer didn't flinch as he stared down the barrel of the gun. "I know I deserve death, but don't take me away from David. He needs me."

"I think he would be better off away from you." Raven hissed. "Where is he now, anyways?"

"With his class. He's doing quite well." Kahlee interjected.

"Besides, Shepard." Miranda commented. "If you kill Dr. Archer, then you are lost to us."

"I agree with Miranda. As much as I wouldn't mind what you are about to do- "Garrus nodded his head, turning his avian eyes away from the man.

"Garrus," Liara argued. She didn't like how Garrus changed since they recruited him to go after Saren. She didn't like the fact that he was the one who pulled the trigger to take out Dr. Saleon and Sidonis. She wasn't part of those missions. It bothered her that Macha didn't condone his actions. Did she encourage it? She never expressed her concerns to her former commander and now it was water under the bridge.

"Why would Cerberus even want you to do this?" Raven continued her questioning of the guilty man in front of her.

"The Illusive Man thought there could be a way to control the Geth. He was fascinated by how the Geth seemed to follow Saren." Archer explained.

"They followed him because they were following the Reapers." Liara added. "The Illusive Man seemed to want to control all his enemies."

Raven's head spun, and she felt a mild migraine forming as her eyes began to hurt. Rubbing the corner of her eyes to apply pressure counteract the pain, she groaned. "The Illusive Man? Reapers? Control? What the hell are you guys even talking about?"

"Easy, Shepard. Don't try to remember yet." Tali moved to gently touch her arm.

"Does the recall of memories trigger pain for you, Shepard?" Gavin inquired as he stepped closer to examine her.

"Yes. Damn migraines. Sometimes when I try to recall certain events, the pain is immense. Everything that is being explained to me doesn't make any sense."

Dr. Archer stroked his chin as he contemplated silently all the different theories behind her condition. His blue eyes watching her. "What has been the most difficult?"

Raven glanced around everyone and then felt a bit uneasy to answer. She knew whenever she tried to recall certain events that involved Garrus, the pain was the most extreme. Judging by his body language, and his expression, that in her former life, she developed feelings for him. Maybe it was mutual or maybe just one sided on his part. She was unclear. "I…I'm not sure." She hesitated on fully answering the question. Her face felt hot and she could feel herself flushing.

"Think, Shepard. There has to be something." Miranda prided.

"I would like to witness this onset of pain, Shepard. It will help me with my hypothesis and the best course of action." Archer moved to grab a data pad.

Garrus clenched his fists as he watched Raven denying knowing. He could tell that she knew but was reluctant in telling them. He recalled seeing her struggle on Omega. Stepping forward, he clasped her hand. "I know." His blue eyes met her purple ones. "I saw it on Omega. You were tracking Archangel."

"Garrus…" Raven bit her lip.

"You found the old warehouse. You crossed that bridge again. This time you were not in my sights."

Raven's mind flashed to crossing the bridge with the Blue Suns mercs. Many taken out with precise sniper shots. Professional head shots. Many dying all around her, but she was not struck and made it across. She searched the front of the warehouse for any threats in her scope, then raced up the stairs to the second floor. There stood a turian in blue armor with a matching blue helmet. His black visor hid his face. "Archangel?" She called to him. Instead of firing back, the turian set his sniper rifle to the side after noting the threat was momentarily paused and removed his helmet. The familiar face of Garrus Vakarian appeared. Raven's heart fluttered as she noticed him. Suddenly, the memory vanished like a tidal wave crashing onto the shore line, destroying a child's sandcastle. Pain burst throughout her frontal lobe and her ears rung. Dropping to her knees, Raven clasped the sides of her head to suppress the sudden surge of cranial pain.

Garrus dropped down beside her to gently rub her back to calm her down and ease her suffering. He glanced angrily upwards towards the man who remained quietly observing. "That's enough, doctor! Shepard, stop remembering. Focus on the metal floor in front of you."

Liara took her other side. "Breathe slowly and deeply, Shepard."

"Impressive. I've never seen a neuro block like this before." Archer spoke up as he turned towards his workstation to begin his thought process.

Miranda followed him. "Is it something that can be reversed, though?"

"Hard to say. We will need a full brain scan to see what kind of hardware we are up against. If anything is implanted, we will need to investigate what we are up against before any intrusive procedures."

Raven shook her head as the pain slowly subsided and a dull throbbing pain continued. She was cognitively alert enough now to be back in the conversation. "No way. You plugged your brother into the Geth. You are not going to experiment on me like that. I would never interface myself with a machine." As soon as she said that, she noted that her fellow team members all gave one another uneasy glances. "What?"

"Actually, you have interfaced with a machine before…" Tali spoke up first.

"More than once. You were taking over by David when we were trying to shut him down. You also allowed Legion plug you in with the Geth's consensus. I didn't agree with it, but I trusted that you knew what you were doing." Garrus continued.

"Okay." Raven sighed hard in defeat. "This is just getting weirder and weirder. What will I learn next? That I interfaced with a Reaper too? Whatever, the hell that is."

"You did speak to one." Liara smiled wryly.

"More than one. Don't forget Sovereign, then Harbinger." Garrus corrected her.

"And the one on Rannoch." Tali pointed out.

"I give up." Raven face palmed and groaned again. "Just hook me up, doctor."

Dr. Archer's eyes widened with all the news of Shepard's past interfaces. "Incredible."

"Don't get any ideas, doctor." Raven slated him.

Setting down his datapad, Dr. Archer ushered her over to a large piece of medical equipment. "This is a cranial scan that I use on our students to check on any infection from their implants when there are complications. It should be sufficient enough to tell us what we need to know." He moved to the front of machine and motioned her to stand where he was. "Just stand here, Commander. I will check the diagnostics before starting the procedure."

"How long will the scan take?" Miranda asked as she looked on.

"Momentarily. Modern medicine and science accelerated rapidly following the end of the twenty-first century. You would be amazed how in depth everything is now." Archer's fingers gracefully moved across the keyboard in front of him. "All checks are completed, Commander. I can initiate the scan whenever you are ready. I would ask everyone to step towards the front of the room until the scan is complete."

"Just do it, doctor. I want this nightmare to be over with." Raven said.

Noticing that the others complied with his request, Gavin initiated the scan and Raven closed her eyes as the red beam projected onto her face. She could hear the machine whirring and tried not to think about what all was happening to her. Forty-five seconds later, the whirring stopped. "Scan complete. It will take a moment for the analysis to come up. You may open your eyes, Commander."

"Is it safe for us to come back over?" Tali eagerly asked.

"Of course. The readings are displaying now. I will project them onto the large monitors, so you can see as well." Archer explained as he moved towards the center of the back wall to where two large monitors were placed. He used his datapad to pull up the data onto the screens. "On the left will be the visual image of the divided layers of Shepard's brain from the top. On the right is the horizontal position."

"Did the scans find anything?" Liara asked as she rapidly moved her eyes over the images to find something.

"Two foreign bodies, actually." Gavin zoomed in on two areas of the brain on each monitor. "The hippocampus and the cerebral cortex."

"English." Raven grunted as she tried to listen in.

"The hippocampus and cerebral cortex are the two areas of the brain that are used to store memories. I've never seen this type of work before and wouldn't know anything else until there's an intrusive procedure."

"You want to dig around up there?"

"This technology is unlike I have ever seen before, Commander. I didn't know Cerberus was capable of such a feat."

"Neither did I, but we did bring back Shepard from the dead." Miranda brought up.

"I don't like the idea of someone screwing around with my brain." Raven growled. "I mean if you mess up, then I'm a vegetable, right?"

"Always a possibility." Archer chewed his lip as he studied the images. "I would make certain that it doesn't happen. As I said before, I'm not familiar with this technology and I do not know what backup systems are in place for any malfunctions."

"You mean that Charon could have a kill switch?" Fear crept in Garrus' voice as he nervously looked over at Raven. The idea of her just killing over with him being unable to do anything shook him to his core. He never came across this as a possibility after they recovered Macha from Omega.

"I wouldn't put it past them," Kaidan spat in disgust. "That Erinyes could be holding the switch any minute. Should we go after them?"

"She may not know that Shepard is on our side." Tali argued. "If she did, she would have done so already. If we attack, then she will know."

"Good point," Alenko agreed glumly.

Liara studied the images displayed. She didn't think that Dr. Archer may not have the answer they were looking for. "You don't suppose that this is leftover Reaper tech?"

"How is that possible?" Garrus turned his head her way. "Wouldn't the catalyst kill their existence?"

"True."

"I can't believe this…" Archer muttered under his breath.

Tali picked up on this. "What is it?"

"With Project Overlord, my intentions were finding a human connection to control the Geth with interface. I would expand the project upon its success for this type of neuro work. I just never would imagine that this would be done…"

"Did you keep notes and logs about all your data and research?" Miranda turned to him away from the displays.

"I did, but after I disbanded from Cerberus to follow David, I thought I destroyed all my data. I took what I could on hard discs for my own personal copy and they are stored here."

"The Illusive Man could have been backing up your files on your terminal without your knowledge, Doctor." Liara explained.

"I wouldn't put it past him." Miranda agreed. "He was always a distrusting bastard."

"And those files passed to whoever is in charge of Charon." Liara looked at the team. "I thought the Illusive Man didn't trust anyone."

"He didn't," Miranda answered.

"In order to gain the credits, resources, technology and this data, he had to." Liara disagreed with her. "One person alone in the organization wouldn't have uncovered all this on their own and all cells were destroyed following the war."

"Erinyes…." Raven seethed. She spun on her heel to turn back at Archer. "You think you can fix me, doc?"

"I will try my best. There's always a risk again of a block. A firewall if you will. If the devices have any proximity sensors to detect tapering, there could be a self-destruct protocol that would reduce you to a vegetable state. Or with those parts of the brain, a permanent loss of long term and short-term memories."

"You mean to tell me that she will forget everything all over again?" Garrus didn't like the idea of losing Macha again. He was so close to getting her back. He wasn't about to let it happen again.

"Yes, and possibly even more previous memories. I cannot say how far back. Complete amnesia is a possibility."

"We can't do that. Let's go after Charon. We will make them fix her." Kaidan angrily shook his head.

"Kaidan…" Raven sadly looked at him. "Don't. You go after Erinyes and I'm good as dead again…or may as well be. "Her purple eyes moved towards Dr. Archer. "I'm placing myself in your care. Fix it."

"I have an emergency medical room in the nearby sector of the station. I will begin the preparations." Gavin nodded before turning away to grab his datapads.

"Shepard…are you sure?" Garrus approached Raven. "What if he messes up?"

"What if he doesn't?" Raven sighed. "You want me back, right? This is the only way." She moved her attention towards where the human Spectre stood. "Kaidan, I will give you the location of the last whereabout of Erinyes. Just in case I lose it."

"I can send scouts to survey the area until we are ready to attack." Liara brought up.

"Sounds like a plan. Better than infantry. I don't want to risk detection yet." Alenko agreed.

"Let's hope Erinyes doesn't realize any of this until I'm cured."

Erinyes looked at herself in the mirror that early morning as she applied her makeup. It was routine for her to get up every morning at o six hundred and make herself presentable. Deviation from that was never acceptable to her, no matter how late she went to bed. Discipline was everything to her. Her father taught her that. He also taught her something else. How to broker deals with enemies to take out another enemy. Alliances with their enemies were short lived if a bigger threat was upon them. Long term was never an option. Sometimes this would not be expressed verbally to the party on the other side. Much to her dissatisfaction to stray away from things that her father did that she didn't agree with, she had to follow in his footsteps. A call was being placed by her staff to Omega to the recipient, Aria T'Loak. Once connection was made and accepted, then the call would be routed to her quarters. No visual. She wasn't about to give Aria the advantage of her knowing her face. Erinyes wasn't with her father when he had to broker a deal with the queen of Omega near the last few years of his lifespan. His reports to her were all that she had. Transcripts of each call. Aria was feisty and cunning. She seemed to get the best of her father even without his knowledge. She wasn't about to let this happen.

The failed attack on Aria's life would make it difficult to place agents to track down Shepard there. Deals had to be made. She had to get Aria's cooperation in finding her asset for her. Losing Shepard on Omega was not an option. She had to keep her there and out of the hands of her friends. "_Call placed into the communications room, mam_." One of her staff members came through the room's intercom.

"Transfer the call here." Erinyes replied.

"_Aria requested a video call, mam."_ The agent's voice wavered. "_She insisted_\- "

"You don't let her insist anything." Erinyes shouted back angrily. The room fell silent. She knew the poor staff member was probably squirming in their chair. Displeasure to their leader was ill advised. "Keep the call there. I will be there momentarily." She smirked as she moved out of the room towards the call's whereabouts. If Aria wanted to play this game, then she would be up for the challenge.

Once inside the room, she seated herself behind the main desk and engaged their video scrambler program. A neat trick that she obtained from a mutual client. It would randomly give computer images of different species instead of her own image. Her voice would still be masked. She selected the voice type to be of a male to even screw with Aria more. She could see what was being displayed to Aria on the right terminal and on the left terminal was the video feed of Aria's unhappy face. Erinyes fought back the urge to grin at the deceit since it would be displayed by the program. The right displayed a male green tone salarian sitting at the same position as she was. "Aria T'Loak, it is a pleasure to speak with you." She said through the microphone. On other end, a male human deep voice spoke showing the age around fifty in their life years, Eastern European descent. Not Salarian at all.

"A video and voice scrambler." Aria rolled her eyes at the ruse. "How cute."

The video changed over to a four eyed batarian male instead. "Sorry, Aria. I forgot you are not into salarians. Is this more to your liking?"

Aria's eye ridges creased downwards with anger. "What's that supposed to imply?" Her voice dangerous.

"Or this?" The video changed by Erinyes fingertips to a blue skin maiden staged asari. "Little more provocative?"

"Stop fucking around." Aria seethed. "Just tell me what the hell that you want."

"I'm here to strike a deal with you. There's an asset of mine that has made its way on Omega."

"Then come here yourself and I can put a biotic sphere right up your ass." The asari spat flatly.

"I can make it worth your while." The image switched over to a krogan.

The physical appearance constant changes were becoming bothersome to T'Loak. She rolled her eyes again. "Fine. Tell me and quit messing around with your program. I hate that shit."

"We have learned that Commander Shepard is very much alive and is on Omega. Her recovery is crucial."

Aria's face remained neutral for several seconds, then she replied, "How much?"

Erinyes fought back the urge to smile even more. Greed was always a weakness to Aria she noted in earlier transcripts. "Depends on what you are wanting in exchange. Ships? Credits?"

"Five hundred thousand now and I will decide the rest when I capture Shepard for you." Aria smirked.

The amount sought was extremely high and this infuriated Erinyes. The asari's greedy nature could not be overlooked anymore. "Two hundred thousand and not anymore."

"Agreed," The smirk on Aria's face didn't falter.

"I will transfer the credits now. I look forward to working with you, Aria T' Loak."

"Show me your face." Aria demanded. "How can I trust someone that I do not know?"

Erinyes was expecting this. Her face was well hidden throughout her years, so it wasn't like Aria wouldn't instantly recognize her even with scans. She would risk this. Shepard was worth the risk. Stopping the program, she displayed the real image of her face. "Satisfied?"

"Close enough." Aria ended the call.

"Just made two hundred thousand credits for nothing," Bray chuckled with a big grin on his batarian face after the call ended. He was listening quietly from his post. Aria played into their caller perfectly. "Shepard's not even here anymore."

"Because you fucking lost her," Aria narrowed her eyes at him. "Two hundred thousand is nothing." She tossed aside casually as she rose up from her couch, summoning her hand maiden to come over to give her another wine glass.

"Charon must be desperate if they wanted to kill you before, Aria and now want to kiss your ass for help."

"I must admit that it is unsettling. A female wanting to go up against me is very impressive. She does have balls that's for sure." She smiled to herself. "More than most."

"Last time a female dared to go up against you was Nyreen." Bray thought back to the heated argument that rose between the Talon leader and Aria.

Spinning around, Aria delivered a hard-biotic shove that knocked Bray down the steps and into a salarian server, scattering his drinks all over the floor. "Don't speak her name!" She hissed lowly to him as her heart pounded. She was not entirely over the loss of Nyreen from the adjutants and the painful memory of her lost lover's face was not what she needed right now. The disruption caused a stir in the nearby crowd as their eyes looked up to see Aria standing at the top of the platform and then to the scrambling body guard, drenched in alcoholic beverages. The salarian server was muttering under his breath as he tried to clean up the pieces of shattered glasses. Seeing their eyes upon her Aria glared down at them. "What the hell are you looking at?!" The patrons quickly moved away to their own affairs.

Still fuming, Aria moved over to her couch once more and tossed back the full glass of wine; discarding the glass down angrily to the floor, ignoring the breakage. Her maiden would dutiful pick it up. Seconds later, she was right. She didn't like the fact that Shepard left the station. Charon would come to collect. The ruse would not last forever. She was tired of the mess that Shepard placed on the station. Omega's stance was always to stay out of council affairs. Especially Spectre's. She would not sit back any more. She would find Shepard and collect on the bounty. Her aid to retake Omega was a footnote.

Their partnership dissolved after she had the station back. Whatever happened to the former Commander after that was of no concern of hers.

Erinyes remained seated at the workstation following the call. She didn't like the idea of revealing her face to someone like Aria, but she anticipated this demand. She was confident that she could not be tracked down and no harm would come to her or her organization by doing so. Her father always explained to her that sometimes there had to be personal risks to benefit human kind. He lived to this quote to the very end of his life.

The hunt for Shepard drew her away from her true motivation and she blamed herself for the distraction. Shepard was only a piece in the chaos she was creating. The war between the krogan and turians seemed to be on standby. Future engagements may risk exposure to Charon. She would let them simmer for now. Another log would be place into the fire soon. She needed to focus on her true mission. There would be no more failures against past squadmates. It was time to continue her purpose. Per Avery's report, Zaeed Massani was recognized at the bar she went to find Shepard. She learned from him that she left there with two batarian Blue Suns mercenary to Omega. Zaeed Massani was a former member of Shepard's team. Contracted as a dossier to help Shepard take down the Collectors. Somehow, Shepard gained Zaeed's loyalty over credits and he maintained to be on her team even when she double-crossed Cerberus. She didn't give the order to Avery at the time because tracking down Shepard was key. They had to do this discreetly. She had what she needed from him and now he was useless. "Avery?" She waited for the connection for her agent to be made.

"Yes, mam?" Avery's distorted face came through seconds later on the visual. She was in her private ship.

"Change of plans. Go back and take out Massani."

"Understood. I will double back there now."

"For a prize, bring me back his fake eye."

"Acknowledged. What about Shepard, mam? Has Raven been located on Omega?"

"I have that worked on, Avery. Do not fail me."

"I won't."


	20. Chapter 20

MASS EFFECT: WINTER EYES CHAPTER 20

Charon Attack

Pharos, Three Days later…

"_Tezor, state your progress_." A worried asari's voice came through the comm link for the mossy green male salarian and his human male comrade on the other end. Both were clothed in black light armor.

Elin Tezor tapped his ear piece, furrowing his brow to eye their surroundings. Unlike many salarians, he had bright yellow facial markings along the center of his head that resembled tiny circles that went down the right of his face following to the end of his jaw. His amphibious dark eyes blinked slightly. "We're through the landing security. Unclear the amount of guards inside."

The human tossed a cocky grin his way as he was in the middle of undressing in the dark supply room to take over the clothing from their poor victim who was still out cold on the floor. "I can handle it." He wiggled a bit as he tightened the pants interlace. "The pants are kind of snug."

Tezor rolled his eyes and squeezed back to make room for him. The tightened space was not ideal for him. "Just get on with it."

"_Getting fat, Alex?"_ The asari teased.

"No, Kieta." Alex quickly shut down the idea. "Their clothes run different than what we have."

"_Uh-huh. Just hurry it up. I don't like idling up here_."

Alex stood proudly in his new uniform and pushed the blonde bangs from his eyes. "How do I look, Elin?"

"Don't forget the helmet to avoid the facial recognition." The salarian pointedly reminded him.

Alex complied and put on the helmet that had a solid black visor. "Yes, mom," He grumbled through the apparatus. "Want to kiss me goodbye too?" Tezor proceeded to give him the salarian gesture that was similar in meaning to the human's middle finger. With a chuckle, Alex moved in the dark to the door. "Maintain radio silence until you hear from me."

"_Watch your ass."_ Kieta chimed in.

Elin Tezor remained still as he watched Alex disappear from the maintenance closet before proceeding out himself. So far, they were undetected at the base that was given to them for their assignment. The information disclosed to them from the Shadow Broker that this place was targeted as the probable site for Charon, the new cell of Cerberus. As an operative for the Broker, Tezor had limited time to know all the outs and ins of the politics behind some of their missions. He trusted the Broker since all the years of servitude didn't bring him to a false lead. This was the third mission he had with Alex and Kieta and the three of them seemed to work well together. Kieta was their drop off and pick up. She was idling under the radar in a scout ship, asari design. Tezor would serve as the lookout outside the facility and be backup should the call come. Alex would be the infiltrator. He was ex Alliance and with a tech background, it made him the ideal choice to go inside and try to track down the heart of Charon's operation. Assassination was not called for, but if he was pressed, then he could defend himself. The group only had an hour window before the real transport ship would arrive. The ruse hopefully would work that long.

Twenty minutes and the radio silence was killing Kieta. The scenario was not unusual for them and she had been distant from them for even longer. Something about this mission didn't set right with her. Suddenly, an alarm blared throughout the cockpit. Proximity alert! Rushing to her controls, Kieta Meto checked the feeds and saw that the nearby relay was activating! Seconds later, a flagship entered the system. Its mass effect fields rocked Kieta causing her to maneuver quickly away to avoid losing all her stabilizers. Her eyes widened as she watched the ship move closer to the base on her radar screen. "Goddess…is that with them?" She moved to break the radio silence to alert her friends below that were groundside, but another alarm screamed at her like a banshee. For a brief second, it felt like she was reliving the battle on Thessia once more. The ship noticed her and was locked on! Manning the controls, she banked the craft hard to the right to avoid being in range for the ship's side cannons. Her mind raced with theories. Did Charon already know they were there? Was it all bad timing? She expected some type of communication from the flagship warning her to "cease and desist" and to identify herself, but there was none. Kieta bit her lip as she eyed the mass relay ahead. The ship strategically placed itself directly in the flight path! Her kinetic shields couldn't withstand the opposing fire power! She couldn't run forever in the system on her fuel and landing below was out of the question. If she was going to go out, she had to warn her friends. "Alex! Elin! We have company!"

The salarian was quick to answer the call, ignoring the silent protocol. "_Kieta_!" He could sense the urgency in her voice. "_What's going on_?!"

"Flagship! I'm locked on!" Kieta felt the blood drain from her face as the nagging alarm blared even faster. "Multiple bogeys! It's dispatching fighters!"

"_Bug out_!" Alex said to her. "_You can't go up against that_!"

"I can't leave you two down there!"

"Do it. We will find a way back." Elin tried to keep his voice as calm as he could as fear crashed into him like a wave.

"May the goddess be with you both. I'm heading out of this system." Kieta tapped in the coordinates and pushed the engines to full throttle. She could hear the systems whirring loudly as they adjusted. Six individually flown fighter crafts exited the flagship's hangar and pursued. Their course directly at her. Kieta gritted her teeth as the blips neared hers on the radar. She mentally blocked out the alarms. "I'm not moving over so get the fuck out of my way." The ship rocked violently and hard as the fighter's guns struck her at the dead center, dropping her shields drastically. Crucial systems were failing. "Kinetic barrier at cockpit. Turn off life support systems outside the cockpit." Kieta instructed the onboard computer system. "Redirect everything to the shields. I need to make it." The blips on the radar were now past her ship but circling back to take another hit. The flagship's dominating presence loomed over her through the viewport. She seemed to be a spec of its shadow. The fighters were breaking up! One was going to her port side, one to her starboard and one directly behind her. All of them locked on and drawing nearer. They were pinning her to the flagship! The glow from the mass relay seem to be taunting her. "I'm not going down like this," She seethed. Sweat beads formed at the top of her forehead. "I survived Thessia." Suddenly the ship's cannon released a bright flash that engulfed the viewpoint, then seconds later, the entire destruction of her ship followed. The sound of her scream and the explosion deaf to ears from the void of space.

"Kieta? Kieta?" Elin tapped his comm link again. No response. Did she make the relay? It would make sense why the connection was severed. He didn't want to think about the other answer…He glanced nervously back to the hallway that Alex disappeared into. They already broke radio silence once. "Alex?"

"_Yeah?" Did she make it?"_ Alex's voice quiet. "_I don't know where the fuck I'm going. This whole place is a maze_."

"I can't confirm…we need to break off. I'll see what transport I can hack into."

_"__Hold up…I think hear some voices. Might be this Erinyes that the Broker told us_."

"Alex, wait! We need to regroup!" Elin reached to his side to unholster his Scorpion pistol. There was no response. Growling through his teeth, Elin glared angrily at his friend's direction. "Don't you dare mute me!" Still nothing. "Fine…" He muttered under his breath as he darted down the hallway to the hangar. He would get another ship ready. With the flagship up there, then most likely Charon would be on to their presence. The entire facility would be on lockdown soon. If they didn't leave now, then they were good as dead.

Rounding the corner, the salarian spotted the ships and dashed to them. Suddenly, there was a sound of a shotgun blast coming from behind. Before he had a chance to turn around to see the threat, he felt a pain strike his back. Another blast, this time, the rounds burrowed a hole straight through his damaged armor, penetrating his vital organs and flesh. A groan escaped his lips before he dropped to his knees. Dark blood filled his throat and mouth, pouring through his teeth and out his lips. His body crashed onto the metal floor, feet away from the nearest craft. Operative Hernandez grinned as he walked casually towards his fallen victim with a shotgun held by his right hand. "Well, well…."

Alex moved towards the room he heard the voices and then slowed his steps when the talking abruptly stopped. Taking a breath, he held his pistol in his hand and inched closer towards the closed door. Opening it, he discovered the room to be dark. "Huh?" The presentation confused him. Startled, he dropped his guard slightly to allow time for Erinyes to swiftly kick the weapon out of his hand with a round house kick. The gun crashed onto the cold metal floor in the darkness. Surprised, Alex looked at his would-be attacker to only be met with another swift side kick to his face. The heel of the attacker's boot scraping his skin. Erinyes met his body with several hard strikes to the center, knocking him back out of the doorway into the hallway. Before Alex had a chance to get up on his feet, five guards poured in on him with assault rifles drawn. Seeing his opposition, Alex wiped the blood from his punctured face and glared angrily at Erinyes. "Erinyes, I presume?" He scowled.

"Interesting that you know my name and the location of this place." Erinyes crossed her arms as she looked down upon him. "We will have much to talk about." Alex held up his hands in surrender with a sigh of frustration. Seeing him give up, Erinyes tapped her comm piece to rejoin the conversation she had with Hernandez prior to the interruption. "All clear. The salarian?"

"_Dead."_ Hernandez confirmed satisfactory. "_I'll toss his body out with the next trash dump._"

Hearing Hernandez' loathing of the aliens as much as she did, made her aroused. She grinned as she kept her eyes on the man in front of her. "Not yet. Find out what you can. Identification, background, group. I want to know how they found us and who they are working for. Once you have this, dispose of him as you see fit."

Overhearing this and realizing that it had to go to Elin, Alex found his strength and jumped up from his spot to take her on once again. "You, bastards!" He was quickly met with the butt of a guard's assault rifle into his abdomen, knocking the breath quickly out of his cavity, causing him to double over in pain.

"He's a human." Erinyes glared down at him with lack of compassion. "Keep him alive for now. I want him to explain his treachery before he is met with the same fate."

"I'm not telling you shit." Alex spat in between coughs as he slowly regained his composure.

Erinyes noted his armor and the insignia of the Broker on the man's neck. A tiny dot, hardly noticeable to the untrained eye, but her father prepared her for all contingencies. It both angered and amused her that the Shadow Broker now entered the fold. She figured at some point the Alliance may come after her, but not the Shadow Broker. She admired the new player. She always found the Broker to be an interesting character. Her father hardly spoke of the Shadow Broker and never bothered on making contracts with him. She never understood this and never questioned it, but the Shadow Broker was a dangerous person. One almost close to her level when it came to resources. "Hernandez?" She called to the Hispanic male operative one more time on her comm.

"_Yes?"_

"We will need to move our location. It has been compromised." She couldn't risk allowing another attack by the Broker. It was dangerous for them to have this information. She didn't know what the Broker was getting in return for this, but things were getting very interesting. That meant someone else was wanting this information. She would tighten security and call in all her operatives until the move was complete. There was already a code alert for the move, so all operatives would know the plan. Each would hunker down and stay idle until the new location was disclosed to them. They would regroup there. Radio transmissions would be silent.

"_Understood_."

Erinyes shook her head as she took out her pistol. "I never thought it would come down to this." She sighed and shot Alex point blank in the head, killing him instantly. Holstering her weapon, she looked upon his dead body and the mess on the floor from the bloody aftermath. "I need to find Raven."

"Erinyes, mam?" One of her assistant workers raced down the hall with a datapad in hand. The young woman stopped and grimaced at the gruesome sight. Erinyes could see the blood draining from the woman's face as her eyes desperately avoided the need to look further.

"What is it?"

"The tech team sent an alert to your personal terminal. It appears that Raven's tracker has been disconnected."

"Disconnected?" Erinyes held out her hand impatiently for the pad to review the data herself.

"Yes," The assistant quickly handed her the intel. "The device quit responding a few minutes ago and they can't get it online. Her GPS system is not tracking either."

"Last known location?"

"Unknown, mam."

"What do you mean, 'unknown'"?!" Erinyes narrowed her eyes at her.

The woman squirmed under the severe interrogation. "T-they said that the GPS failed to provide output for a week now."

"A week?!" Erinyes screamed in outrage as she stormed towards the tech room. The messenger remained in her place in fright as she watched the angry leader of Charon disappear from view.

Minutes later, Erinyes entered the room and saw the three staff members standing up from their seats instantly. "Yes, E-Erinyes?" Their voices trembled.

"Explain to me why Raven's GPS has gone silent the past week, and no one came to me to advise of this…." Erinyes' voice low and dangerous.

The older male of the team eyed his partners cautiously before stepping forward to address her concern. He cleared his throat as he stood up straighter to regain his courage. "Her signal dropped. We assumed it was a malfunction since it was working perfectly before."

"Our reports said that Raven went to Omega. We concluded that the disturbance could be from the Eezo outputs on the station. We were getting diagnostics and tests done before relaying to you, mam. We didn't want you on alert for a false error." Another replied.

"A false error?!" Erinyes fumed. "We just had the Shadow Broker's team compromise our location! Raven's gone dark! I want to know where the hell she is. You must have something! Vitals?"

The older man spoke up again for the group. "All vitals were normal prior to losing the connection. Blood pressure was stable. We didn't presume that she was under any type of threat."

"There was a drop in her oxygen levels though…" The woman of the group piped in nervously. She had a heavy English European accent. "Misread? Some type of sedative? We were going to check once the GPS came back online."

Raising her pistol, Erinyes shot the male of the group who spoke first squarely in the chest. He staggered backwards, holding his chest. His hands soaked with blood before he fell to the floor. The room erupted into screams of horror and fright. Erinyes stayed still until the chaos dissolved and all eyes were back to her. "Find Raven or you will be next. There's no room for error." Exiting the room, she made a beeline to her private chambers. "Aria has betrayed me…that damn bitch has Raven. She played me just like she did my father. There are no damn Reapers to fight this time. I will annihilate Omega from its very existence."


	21. Chapter 21

MASS EFFECT WINTER EYES: CHAPTER 21

DIVISION

There was no status update from Dr. Archer on Shepard's condition so Liara kept herself busy in Grissom's communications lab to keep her mind from worrying too much. She just knew that Macha would need to pull through. Charon was becoming deadlier and even a greater foe to face than Cerberus ever was. The Illusive Man did go against them at the end, but he never targeted assassination of their lives. Whoever Erinyes was had a vendetta against them. Her identity evaded T'Soni' s mind. Just how far up the ranks was she in Cerberus? Were the Illusive Man's post-mortem wishes that malicious or was there another factor in play? Her mind swiped over to the current mission in which she deployed three of the Broker's best agents to. Raven relayed Charon's last known headquarters to Kaidan before going under. Liara felt hurt she wouldn't disclose this to her. The information could lead them to a surprise attack against Charon. Everyone agreed to wait until Macha recovered, but that would take an unknown amount of time since the procedure was experimental and time was of the essence. If Charon was cautious, they may quickly vacate their current whereabouts and be lost to them. The situation was dire and if she didn't act now then countless lives could be lost. More lives that she didn't want to give up.

With her time on Ilium, Liara improved her skills as an information broker and hacking capabilities. As the new Shadow Broker, she became exposed to endless caches of data at her disposal. Knowledge was valuable and could be deadly. Despite the security protocol on Kaidan's private terminal due to his status as a Spectre, Liara was able to decrypt all his logs and transfer copies to her own archives undetected. A brief mining program extracted the coordinates to Charon and with that, she turned the location over to her top field agents. There was no room for error. She could trust them, and their objective was to only confirm positive identity of Charon and gather whatever surveillance that they could. A complex infiltration task, but they were to avoid any firefights if possible. While everyone waited for Shepard's full recovery, she could gather more intel for them to use once they planned an attack. She could keep track of Charon easily; should they move from their location. Calculating their departure time, travel and any possible delays, Liara assumed that their report would be back to her several hours ago. There was no word yet. A lump hard as stone formed in the base of her stomach. She knew the repercussions should the mission being a total failure. However, failure was not a factor in her equation. All three agents had a one hundred percent success rate. "Glyph." She called out to her personal AI droid.

"Yes, Shadow Broker?" The spherical holo droid dutifully responded as he hovered over to her from his docking station. During her last mission with Shepard, she changed her name in Glyph's database for recognition as Dr. T'Soni or Liara. However, lately, she moved the droid back to the standard term as "Shadow Broker." The title resonated well with her.

"Any reports yet from the three agents?" Her mouth felt dry even asking the question.

"None yet, Shadow Broker. However, there is a report from Agent Ryaka. There has been more chatter with Aria's men on Omega Would you like to read this while you wait?"

"No, thanks." Liara's head spun as she tried to focus on the issue at hand. She was done with Omega as far as she was concerned and didn't want to deal with the pirate queen ever again. She bit her tongue to lash out at the droid for telling her something she didn't think was important right now. "I'll review that later." She paused as she continued to think things through. "Check their vital scans."

"Checking…" The droid systematically answered her request. "There has been an error with the scans, Shadow Broker."

"Error?" The news alarmed the asari. "A disruption in the connection?"

"No disruption of the service can be detected."

"A glitch in the program?" Liara chewed her lip. "Previous readings?"

"Scans show that vital scans did not terminate at the same time. Scans did detect an elevation in adrenaline, blood pressure and heart beat."

The stone in her stomach grew. She could taste bile in her mouth as the nightmare came true. "They were under attack…" She concluded sadly as she fought back further emotions.

"That is quite the possibility, Shadow Broker. Is there anything else you require?"

"No…thank you, Glyph." Liara held her body up as she leaned over the counter that housed most of her computer systems. Her entire body shook with despair. "Goddess…what have I done…."

"Hey, something wrong, Liara?" Kaidan asked gently as he entered the room, catching only the last sentence that she muttered.

Whirling around in surprise, she quickly wiped the tears from her eyes. "Kaidan…" Guilt consumed her like red sand. She felt unresponsive.

Seeing her in distress, the dark-haired man quickened his steps to cut the distance between them. His brown eyes sincerely watching her body language to try to pick up on cues for her disposition. "You want to talk about it?"

"No…. I-," She abruptly stopped herself to admit the truth for her deception. "I have had a lot on my mind."

"You have been in here for hours, Liara." Alenko gently pointed out. "You need to take a break. Is this all you do now without Shepard's missions?" He frowned. "That's not healthy."

"There is so much data coming in, Kaidan. So much that we could learn and use." She argued. "Knowledge is power."

"Yeah?" He shook his head. "Power corrupts too. I've seen it. You've seen it."

"Any updates on Shepard?" She quickly changed the subject.

"Not a word. Hopefully soon." He glanced around at her setup. "I'm ready to take the fight to Charon."

Guilt nagged at Liara. "Kaidan…," She hung her head in defeat. "That may never happen."

Snapping his head back to her direction, his voice peaked in alarm. "Why? What do you mean?"

"Shepard's recovery may take longer than we know. If Erinyes finds out, we will lose Charon." She began.

Catching on to where she was going with this, Kaidan's jaw clenched with anger. "What are you not telling me, Liara?"

"I sent three of my best agents to gather intel on Charon's known location. Hoping to monitor them closely so we would have the upper hand. They haven't reported in and their vitals show they were under attack. All three are presumed to be dead."

Alenko scoffed at the news as he shook his head again and took a step backwards away from her. "We all agreed that…" He stopped, and anger consumed him more. "How did you learn their location?" He hissed.

"From your terminal," Liara admitted.

"You hacked me? Behind my back?" Kaidan glared at her. "I can't believe this shit…you are going rogue on us and then you went into Spectre property? Do you know that's a serious offense?" His voice rose.

"I believed I could outsmart Erinyes, Kaidan." Liara defended her actions, but remorse made it hard to be too angry at him. She knew she was wrong. "I am the Shadow Broker after all."

"Yeah? So, what?" Alenko shot back. "Does that make you better than the rest of us? I'm a goddamn Spectre and I still held back like everyone agreed upon. I thought we were all on the same team, Liara."

"I am!"

"Really? Because you don't act like it. You have changed, Liara. I didn't see it on Ilium because I wasn't with Shepard and I guess seeing you on the Normandy made me believe it would be like old times, but it's not. You have jeopardized Shepard's life and our lives by doing this."

"I know." Liara sighed hard, admitting the truth. "Goddess, I just thought I was right…"

"Like I said. Power corrupts." Kaidan answered matter-of-factly. "Now we are all going to be paying for this. Will Erinyes connect them to you?"

"To the Shadow Broker, maybe. If you know what to look for. My agents would not disclose anything if they were taken for interrogation before their deaths."

"Are you sure? Torture can break many hardened individuals." Kaidan sighed when there was no answer. "We need to move. Instead of Charon fleeing, it will be us." He pivoted on his heel to head back to the room's door to inform the group.

"Wait." She called to him as she quickened her steps to reach him. "I'll tell them."

Avery shifted a bit in her seat as she felt her bottom becoming numb from sitting too long in her booth. She entered Slaver's Bay two hours ago and her query was a no show. She pretended to be on a holo chat with an unknown person to avoid any unwanted contact with the bar's patrons. A few skeptical looks glanced her way every now and then. She would meet their gaze to break off their rude intrusion. Posing a front was everything in this place. The bar contained mercs, dock workers and slavers. The clientele was just as bad as Omega. It mostly contained batarians, humans, and a few turians. "I'm not liking this…where the hell is he?" Avery huffed under her breath, ready to scrub her objective for the day. The mixture of pheromones and sweat was overwhelming to her and she just felt so dirty. Packing up her equipment, she reached into her sack to make room, and paused when she heard a few voices perk up towards the front of the bar. Looking up, she saw Zaeed Massani walk in with a gruff facial appearance. He swiped a credit chit at the bar and stopped briefly to greet the female bartender once more. Avery couldn't pick up what they said, but Zaeed nodded his head to the batarian before moving towards the back area of the bar where rooms were available to be rented. Taking a breath, Avery waited for him to walk by, avoiding eye contact with him, before slipping on her pack to follow him. No one really took notice of her movement.

Avery was surprised at his detection when he stopped right outside his room's door and turned quickly on her. His one good eye glaring suspiciously at her. "I'm not into this right now. Go away, girlie." He moved back to his designated room.

The undercover Charon agent waited for him to open the door to grant her access before taking further action. Staying close to him to avoid being closed out, she pursued him with a friendly smile on her face. "Into what?" She asked flirtatiously.

Zaeed continued into his room, allowing her to stay with him before he sat down on the run-down olive-green couch. "I know what you are." He grunted. "You're wasting your time."

Avery waited to hear the satisfying sound of the room's door closing behind her before smirking at him devilishly. She slowly stepped to him menacingly. "I don't think you know for sure, Zaeed Massani."

Hearing her state his name made the old merc scrunch up his scarred face and he looked up at her as she now stood a few inches from where he was sitting. "You know my name? Heh. Did Brachia pay you?"

"She didn't."

Zaeed swore under his breath. "Don't be coy with me. Who sent you, then?"

Without answering, Avery quickly retrieved her pistol fitted with a silencer and aimed for the center of his forehead. Her mark was met with precision and the impact killed the merc instantly as the bullet drilled into the front bony structure of his skull. Blood and brain mattered splattered onto the couch and onto Avery's clothes. The impact forced the merc's head to violently snap back before the lifeless body collapsed onto the couch in an awkward position. Looking down at her garments, Avery moved to the room's door once more, activating the locking mechanism. Moving back to the dead merc, Avery holstered her pistol and retrieved a serrated combat knife. Her eyes fell upon his glossy eye prosthesis and a twisted smile spread across her lips.

"You did what?" Garrus was the first to break the room's silence after hearing Liara's confession. Betrayal and anger filled the turian's voice. His mandibles twitched as he processed the news.

"That was stupid." Miranda flatly stated. "I thought we all agreed to hold off."

"We did." Kaidan chimed in as he stood near the back with his arms crossed. "Liara acted on her own."

"What does this now mean?" Tali stood next to Garrus.

"It means that we're fucked. That's what." Jack huffed.

"Jack!" Kahlee cringed at the swear word. She sighed lightly. "Do I need to evacuate my students?" Evacuation was never easy. If students had to be transferred for whatever the reason may be, parents and guardians had to be notified. If time permitted it, parents and guardians had to be given a reasonable time to take their child themselves. In normal situations, the new transfer location would be disclosed upon the alerts, but given the abnormal circumstances, that was not a possibility.

"We're not sure, but that may be an issue, Ms. Sanders." Kaidan walked to the center of the group. "We have to assume the worst. Charon knows the Shadow Broker is after them."

"Can Charon track it back to us? To this location?" Tali wrung her hands nervously.

All eyes fell upon Liara for more answers. "Not even my agents are told of my location. I encrypted all messages and they are bounced off several networks. The location of the sent message is never directly from here. Even if Charon did a trace, a false location would be given."

"Charon outsmarted you so far." Garrus argued. "You think they can do it again?

Liara was always extra cautious about the Broker's identity and her whereabouts. She was wrong before about Erinyes and couldn't make the same fatal mistake again. "Maybe. It's too soon to tell."

"How is Shepard doing, Doctor?" Kaidan asked Dr. Archer who stood off to the side, remaining quiet in his thoughts. Worry and alarm did plaster his face.

"Progressing well in recovery. The medically induced coma should keep her calm so her body can adapt. I cannot say for sure how long she will stay unconscious or what her memory will be when she does wake up." Gavin explained as he held his fingers to his lips in deep pondering.

"Is she able to be moved? Just in case we do need to leave here before she comes to." Miranda inquired.

Dr. Archer quickly shook his head. "I'm not dealing in a medical hospital setup. She would require an extensive transfer with equipment that's not available at this school. They have the basics here. It's dangerous as it for her to be here now in her present state."

"I can contact the Council and get them to send a Citadel Medical transport." Kaidan suggested.

"You do that, and our location would be compromised." Liara argued.

"You should have thought of that before you attempted to go up against Charon by yourself, Liara," Garrus painfully slighted her. The asari hung her blue fringed head sadly in defeat.

"You're right, Garrus…" She sighed in despair. "I thought I had my chance."

"I can go out and meet up with a Serta Foundation medical transport to obtain more medical supplies." Miranda suggested. "That would at least give Shepard more of a chance if we have to move her." The idea of Shepard unconscious medically made her think back to her days on the Lazarus Project. There was always a possibility that the facility may be compromised, and she did prepare for the event that they had to extricate Shepard. However, they had the means to do so.

"Have you had a chance to analyze the chip that was planted in her brain, Dr. Archer?" Tali looked back over at the doctor for anymore updates about their friend's progress.

"Before I had a chance to analyze it, the device deactivated, and I cannot figure out how to make it come online. A fail safe most likely."

"Give the chip to me, Doctor. I can study it." Miranda advised.

"I'll help you, Miranda. I will do whatever I can," Tali chimed in.

"Then we hold off and see what comes about with this? See how Shepard fairs?" Kaidan offered to the team. All nodded their heads. He eyed Liara carefully with his brown eyes. "Let's keep up our guard; just in case."

Liara T'Soni found it hard to sleep that night and she lost track of time in her reports before discovering that it was now morning and she didn't get any sleep at all that she could recall. Just sitting there and doing nothing against Charon's backlash really seemed to bother her. She wanted to know their movements, but it was dangerous to dispatch more agents. Charon would be on their game now and she couldn't risk anymore lives or break off what little trust she had with her old teammates. Ever hour, she would run diagnostics and scans through all her servers to catch any unusual activity that would indicate a break-in. No indication yet. Hagalaz was in danger, but she had a program that would instantly blow up the ship should there be any penetration. The makeshift room that she created at Grissom would have to do. She basically took over their communications room and provided a few upgrades with Glyph's help. The spherical droid hovered in her direction from its docking station. "Shadow Broker, one of your queries has been flagged from extranet extractions for your viewing."

"Which query?" Liara froze at the news. Fear hit her. She thought back to all the queries she gave Glyph for extranet scans: The names of all her teammates, particularly ones that were not with them at the present moment.

"Zaeed Massani."

"Goddess…" Liara swallowed the lump that formed in her throat. "Details."

"Blue Suns Transmission 1.456790 captured at 0300. The body of Zaeed Massani was found dead on Amaranthine."

"Recording or article?"

"Recording."

"Play it."

Seconds later, an unknown male batarian voice came through Glyph's internal speakers. "_Just left Slaver's Bay. You wouldn't believe what I heard. Old Brachia said that Zaeed Massani is dead. Shot in the fucking head and they took his fake eye. Glad he's dead. He never did like our kind. We should celebrate when I return_."

"She started it back up…"


	22. Chapter 22

MASS EFFECT WINTER EYES:

CHAPTER 22

Soft murmuring awakened Garrus from his sleep. His beady avian eyes groggily moved over to the sounds' origin; his mind still coming to a fully conscious state. Macha's eyes were closed and she seemed peaceful as she laid there on her back in the bed next to where he was. There appeared to be no change in her current status. He began to wonder if pure exhaustion was causing hallucinations. "Hope?" His thoughts tossed out the unspoken word. The room's small window to the right of the bed led straight into the station's atrium. Its artificial sunlight scheduled to come on every twelve hours to mirror Earth's rotation around its sun. The room was still dark allowing Garrus to guess it was still in the twilight hours. It felt like he had been asleep for days.

A quick movement back in Macha's direction stirred his attention once more. Looking back her way, he studied her form. Then he saw it! Her fingers! All on her right hand seemed to be moving slightly, then the left hand followed suit. She was coming to a more conscious state. Stirring, Macha murmured again, her eyes tightly shut as her body longed to be in stasis once again. Reaching to the room's monitor, he pressed the button to alert anyone who was in the nearby lab. "Macha is waking up!" Quickly removing his talon from the button, he dashed back to Macha's location and gingerly grasped her right hand, giving it a light squeeze. "I'm here, Shepard." He gently coaxed her to him.

Macha's hand responded with a tighter squeeze and then it recoiled quickly, feeling his touch. Her eyelids flickered open and her fake purple irises stared up at the ceiling as her sight focused in. Her body ached from lying in bed for the past several days, Macha groaned as she tried to wiggle her body around under the white sheet to work out the kinks. "Garrus?" She spoke his name. Her head turning to set her eyes squarely on him. "Where the hell am I?"

Turians were not known to cry, given the hard stature. However, Vakarian could feel the tears forming at the base of his eyes. His first reaction was to block them out from continuing, to prevent any sign of weakness. "I'll fill you in."

The door to the room slid open and in poured the remaining occupants of the station on her team including Kahlee Sanders and Dr. Archer. Their amazed, wide-eyed expressions stared at Macha in disbelief before breaking into celebratory hugs and high-fives. "Shepard!" Unable to contain herself, Liara T'Soni moved and held Shepard to her as tears streamed down her blue facial skin.

Caught off-guard by the sudden display of emotion, Macha winced and returned the hug back gingerly. "Liara, it's good to see you. I'm so glad that you made it." She slowly put herself in a sit-up position and let her eyes look around the room. "I thought you vacated the system after I initiated the catalyst. I was told the dark energy burst would destroy the relays. How did you make it back on Earth?"

Her question caught the entire team off kilter. Their puzzled expressions and silent physical exchanges made Macha cock an eyebrow at the quiet crew. "We did stop the Reapers, right?"

Dr. Archer approached her bed with a handheld slim flashlight. He clicked it on to check her pupil dilations. "Remarkable. The surgery was a success."

Swatting him away, Macha scowled. "What are you doing here, Dr. Archer? I know we rescued you when several Cerberus scientists disbanded, but I still do not trust you. Not after what you did to David."

"Shepard…do you have any idea of what happened after you spoke with the Catalyst?" Kaidan asked the question of the hour. He already had his own fear and the same was on everyone's minds. The procedure somehow demolished all memories collected since her recreation with Charon. A blessing, but then again, a problem for them and their current mission status. Would they have to earn Shepard's trust all over again? They would have the upper hand in her knowing that they are on the same side, but Macha was never the type to run in and ask questions later. She wanted the full detail disclosure on the front end. Did they have that kind of time?

Macha licked her lips as she realized how dry her mouth was. Talking was making her throat sore. "I need some water first." She scooted towards the left side of the bed, taking precaution with the tubes and cords still plugged in that were monitoring her vitals and providing nutrients in her dormant state.

Archer stepped closer to stop her. "Let me unplug you first, Shepard."

"I can get you some water," Garrus finally released her hand to fetch her requested item.

Macha watched Archer work away. "No. I need to walk. I can get it." She moved her hand around to note the partly opened back of her gown. "Everyone, look away."

Her predicament and statement aroused a soft chuckle of enjoyment from the team before they complied with the request. Garrus winked her way. "Come on, Shepard…do I need to?"

"No…" Macha smiled at him. "Help me walk, but keep your blue eyes ahead. Understood?" Her voice jokingly, yet stern.

"Yes, mam." He allowed her to sit up before helping her stand.

Wobbly, Macha felt herself leaning on the turian as she became more weight-bearing. Her leg muscles felt like they wouldn't move. Taking a step forward, Macha ignored the instability and made her way to the bathroom to get a cup of water from the sink. With each step, her dependence on Garrus became less. The room's sensor detected her presence and the lights came on revealing the small chamber that housed a standard toilet, a sink and mirror. The cups were located on the right of the sink near the faucet. Lifting her fingertips down, Macha selected one and then caught a glimpse of herself in the mirror. Gasping, she dropped the cup and stared at the stranger in front of her. "What the hell is this?" Her fingers shook as they tapped her face. The familiar red hair and green eyes were gone. Instead, she had purple eyes with pitch black hair that was cut much shorter. A tattoo was on her neck. Its imagery foreign to her. She looked over at her turian companion for explanation. "Did the damn catalyst do this to me?"

"I'm afraid not…" Garrus sighed hard as he looked on. He watched her trace the tattoo's outline.

"This isn't me…. some kind of merc tat?"

"No, Shepard. It's not…it's- "He stopped himself, trying to think of how to explain the last five plus years to her.

Spinning on her heel to confront him, Macha's eyes narrowed at him. "Garrus, quit dancing around this. Tell me what the hell is going on."

"Good news, Aria. Intel reports came in from the relay." Bray announced as he walked up the steps that evening to the platform where Aria was, entertaining a few mercs of the Eclipse group.

Seeing his approach, Aria motioned for her guests to quickly leave. She hated to play cordial to the mercenary groups on Omega, but they were useful and could come in handy if she ever needed to make a power play or show another group who truly was their leader. Every now and then, she would invite the leaders of the various groups to Omega for a few drinks and reinstatements of their pledges. Sometimes, the leaders would "ask" for negotiations on their fees to the Pirate Queen. Most times, the fees were negotiated to always her advantage. "What did they find out?"

Bray handed her the datapad for her own review. "As expected, the ship cannot be traced. The relay reports show at the proximate time of their departure, its trajectory was to the Petra Nebula, Vetus system."

"What's in that system?"

"Too many damn places they could have went. Sidon, Elysium, Grissom Academy. Mostly human places."

All three places were familiar to T'Loak. Reports were constantly captured on the extranet and archived. All three had been in the news before. Sidon held a research facility that was attacked by mercs nearly thirty years ago; the entire staff slaughtered with their bodies vaporized to prevent identification. Elysium was attacked by pirates during the Skyllian Blitz and Grissom Academy was attacked by Cerberus during the Reaper War. The task was figuring out where they went in the system. She couldn't risk sending her team to the wrong location. Despite the facility's attack, Sidon was reconstructed and fully staffed by the Alliance. As far as Aria knew, there was no Alliance interest in Shepard's old team despite the Spectre's involvement. Elysium was bigger since the Blitz and it would be like trying to find a needle in a haystack if they were well dug in. Grissom Academy was known to house biotic children for their learning and development of their abilities. Its leader was Kahlee Sanders. The name Sanders sparked her interest. She remembered the blonde woman years ago when she captured her and David Anderson while searching for Paul Grayson. David Anderson was an Admiral of the Alliance after their entanglement and went on to battle the Reapers on Earth prior to his death. Shepard and her team saved Grissom from Cerberus' attack so most likely she had been in contact with Kahlee Sanders at some point. If Shepard and her team were hiding away somewhere, Grissom was the best place to start looking. No one would assume that they would be at some biotic academy for children. A smile of satisfaction spread across her purple lips. She figured it out. "Bray, where do you think they went?" She tossed the general question out to only boost her accomplishment.

The batarian scratched his head as he pondered the question. "Elysium?" He replied with a shrug. "That port is damn big enough for them to hide."

Knowingly, Aria shook her head. "This is why I lead Omega. Knowledge is key, and I make a note to stay informed. The information could always play a part later. They went to Grissom. Their friend, Sanders, is there."

"That woman again?" Bray grumbled, remembering their past as well with Kahlee on Omega years ago.

"Pick a team of six others. Bring Shepard, kill the rest if you have to."

"I'm on it."

"Remember, you are dealing with biotics," She reminded him.

"They are only children." He scoffed.

"Just don't let children kick your ass, then."


	23. Chapter 23

MASS EFECT WINTER EYES: CHAPTER 23

FAMILIAR

A cool chill coursed her body from the room's vents as the temperature was regulated by the facility's VI. Holding the towel closer to her for warmth, Macha felt the goosebumps popping up as her bare feet walked across the tile floor towards the gift that Liara left for her while she was taking a shower. The hot shower was tranquil and almost brought peace from the turmoil that was recently placed at her feet. "One war after another…." She mused gently. A soldier's life never ended. Not until death it seemed…and for her, the afterlife brought even more. It seemed like she was given the opportunity for death. Someone always tended to bring her back…and it was the wrong parties. With cleaning agents, she managed to scrub out the hair dye to allow her natural red hair to come through once more. The purple contacts removed from her irises to reveal her more familiar emerald green. The facility was not equipped with a corrosive acid wash to remove the tat. For now, it remained. A haunting image of her former self. One that she couldn't wait to hide until the removal could occur.

The download she received from the remnants of her team was not one she could process easily. Lost individuals…their deaths blamed against the same group she was part of: Charon. It all seemed like a bad dream; one that she wanted to wake up from desperately. Her team could only disclose what they knew. What if there was more? What if she was responsible for some unfortunates' untimely death? Civilians? Scientists? She had no idea. She didn't want to think about it. Erinyes was a mystery to her. All that Macha knew was that the woman was very dangerous. More dangerous than the Illusive Man. The former leader of Cerberus had Macha one time in his possession. He could have easily transformed the human Spectre to his own minion. Instead, he chose to preserve her just the way she was to help humanity against the attacks from the Collectors.

Displayed like a collector's item in a preservation case was her N7 armor or one manufactured to resemble the same. The wine-colored armor brought back memories: good and bad. She donned the famed attire since her hunt for Saren. A few upgrades here and there. Reaching out with her bare fingertips, she allowed her flesh to barely touch the exterior protective layer around the breastplate inching closer to the N7 emblem. A proud accomplishment of hers before taking over the Normandy from Anderson. She missed him. Another reminder of her past. "I couldn't wait for you to see this…it's been stored for so long…" Liara's soft and welcoming voice approached her back from the room's doorway. Just how long was she standing there?

"No privacy?" Macha teased as she turned to fetch her clothes. In her eyes, the asari was female just like her. Her body had the same dominant features except for the skin pigmentation and the lack of hair. Even though the asari were non-gender.

The blue asari blushed and turned to give Macha a few minutes to change into her clothes. "Do I even have to ask…. where'd you get it, Liara?" Macha called to her as she pulled her shirt over her torso.

"Not the original I'm afraid." Her friend admitted. "Though with a little persuasion, I was able to get the Alliance to issue a new one."

Macha giggled as she zipped up her pants. "First, I thought it was a knock-off like Conrad Verner purchased. Probably would have been a lot cheaper for you," A playful grin moved across her lips.

Liara pouted her blue lips and crossed her arms. "Please. Remember who you are talking to."

"Not sure…Shadow Broker." Macha smirked. "I like the details," Pointing to the armor once more. "You sure knew a lot about me."

T'Soni giggled. "You always did fascinate me, Shepard."

Macha nodded. "That I did. I remember our talk after Therum."

Liara's eyes widened and Macha could almost depict the predominantly blue skin turning to a shade of red on her cheeks. "Some memories I wished you didn't recover," Her voice shook with embarrassment as she thought back to how she admitted to being attracted to Macha. Shepard then questioned if her attraction was truly physical or because of her obsession with the Protheans.

Kaidan entered the room and stopped in mid-step when he saw the two conversing in a private conversation. "Oh, hey. I didn't know you already had company, Shepard."

"It's okay. I was just leaving to check on Wrex." Liara moved, flashing another smile to her old Commander, before removing herself from the room.

"I can't wait to see him." Macha smiled. "I need to smack some sense into him."

Her statement aroused a chuckle from Alenko. "That I would pay to see."

Macha crossed her arms as her green eyes stared at him. "Something on your mind, Spectre?"

Her question was not pointed and her voice flowed with playful tone. Seeing her standing there almost brought back memories to Kaidan. Painful ones. After Virmire and the lost of Ash, Kaidan divulged his developing feelings towards Macha. He was afraid with the battle against Saren hitting too close to the chest, he needed to get it out into the open. Rejection was a high probability, but he would regret it if he never got the chance again. At that time, Macha returned his affections and the two spent a passionate night in her quarters prior their arrival on Ilos. Following her death from the Collector attack, Kaidan tried to move on. He even dated a woman off the Citadel. Briefly. Nothing serious. He couldn't get his mind off Macha. Reports came in that she was alive and working with Cerberus. The enemy. He denied these until his run-in with her on Horizon.

The same warm expression on the woman's face brought mixed feelings once again. Familiar ones. He tried to move on once again after she admitted to him that she had something with Garrus during their separation. He fought along side her during the last phase of the Reaper War even as a squad mate to her new love interest. With his fierce mental training at Jump Zero, he was able to remain focused on the mission and never allowed jealousy cloud his judgments. He was holding it together or so he showed. Deep down, he wanted her. Privately yearning for the days he had with her during their run-in with Saren Arterius. "Kahlee wanted to know if she needed to get the students evacuated," He lied, shunning away from his true motive of his visit.

Macha sighed. She was up to speed about the predicament they were in. A choice she wasn't too sure on how to make. Then again, her whole career was making tough calls. Started off at Akuze when her whole squad was killed and down the line, she lost squadmates one by one: Ashley, Thane, Mordin and Legion. Pain was not foreign to her. Her psych profile red flagged her with emotional scars and PTSD. Labels that she tossed aside. She wouldn't let them describe the woman she became. More friends died after Charon took her away. This time, it wasn't her choice. She had no control over their fates. She was damn sure not to let it happen again. If they evacuate the students, they would risk detection further by Charon. A sudden emergency evacuation of Grissom Academy would reach the news net and then the notification would spread like a wildfire across the galaxy. The cause would remain classified, but it would spark Charon's interest. If they planned accordingly, they could have the children completely off the station prior to any imminent attack. No evacuation would give them more time to prepare and catch Charon off-guard if they were led on already. However, the entire student body would be at risk. Most of the older students did have combat training as they led support roles against the Reapers on Earth. However, there were still younger ones who lacked any basic military training. A few biotic displays were not enough against a well-trained assault team. The fact was that there was no evidence to support that Charon tracked them. All they knew was that the Shadow Broker was going against them and the Broker's identity remained secret. "One hell of a call to make," She flatly admitted to the man in front of her. "What would you do?"

"The students were dragged into a war they didn't want before. We lost many already. No child should be placed into that dilemma." He shook his head knowingly. "Hunkering here without any exits is not good either."

"A good observation," Macha nodded her head. "If we can pull an evacuation off without alerting the press…"

"Don't notify the parents." Alenko tactfully pointed out.

"That's against the school's protocol."

"Shepard, you have always taught me that sometimes you need to bend the rules in order to save lives. I have followed you for so long..." Pain came out of his mouth as he felt himself choking.

Hearing his voice cracking, Macha reached out and gently clasped his hands with hers. "Kaidan…don't do this. Not now," Her voice softly urged him. She could feel the tears filling up her eyes as he spoke. A fragment of their relationship still remained.

"You know I would go to hell and back for you." Alenko pressed on, squeezing her hand. "Just say the word."

Macha could feel her heart pounding in her chest like a shot of pure adrenaline. "Kaidan…" His name escaped her lips as she felt herself uncontrollably leaning closer to him. Her soft lips brushing against his. Her breath warm and inviting. Feeling her touch, Alenko hungrily accepted her lips and captured them. Their tongues entwined inside their mouths as their arms embraced tightly against one another. Her fingers clutched his casual wear black tight-fitting shirt. The fabric brushing up against her skin. Her long red hair caressed his own hands at the small of her back. Kaidan lowered his hands and cupped her buttocks as he lifted her up allowing her to wrap her legs around his waist. He walked her closer to the wall nearby for support, his mouth never leaving hers. The sound of their breathing becoming louder as her fingers reached under his shirt to caress his skin. His body shivered at her familiar touch.

Without warning, they heard Garrus loudly clearing his throat. Breaking away quickly, Kaidan released Macha and inched his body away from hers. His mouth panting to catch his breath. He fumbled to quickly fix his shirt in a pre-tussled state. Macha stared in guilt at her turian lover. No explanation could be given to him. The alien's avian eyes almost seemed to glow red as if he was indoctrinated. "Garrus…"


	24. Chapter 24

MASS EFFECT WINTER EYES: CHAPTER 24

Betrayal

A wave of nausea came over Macha as she stood frozen in place. The Turian, just twenty feet away, stared at her with his familiar blue birdlike eyes. Everything that transpired seconds ago felt like an uncontrollable dream. Vakarian straightened his posture as he stood in the doorway. "There's an Alliance dreadnought on patrol in a nearby system. They can be here in two hours. Kahlee wants to know if we are going to evacuate these kids." His mandible twitched slightly as his voice remained rigid and firm. Pure professionalism. However, his eyes betrayed his outer appearance. He was hurt. A quick glance at Kaidan revealed jealousy and betrayal. The turian's arms remained poised at his sides, his talons curling up into fists as the muscles in his arms became tight.

Kaidan was the first to break the ice that formed in the room. "Garrus- "

Without acknowledgment, Vakarian turned on his heel and left the room quickly; the door closing seconds later. Spectre Alenko moved his pale brown eyes to her. "Macha…I'm sorry. I was out of line."

Sighing hard in despair, Shepard cupped her face with her hand and shook her head. Her mind felt foggy as if she was swimming in medigel. She had no explanation as to what just transpired in the room and the reason behind it. Her and Kaidan had a bad break after the Collector attack and they lost touch with one another. She developed feelings with Garrus after his recruitment off Omega. She moved on. It was painful at first when Kaidan entered back into her life prior to her hearing. Placed momentarily in San Francisco, she was to face the tribunal about her actions in the Aratoht system. Alenko was ranked Major at the time and he really seemed to have developed himself into a more capable individual while they were apart. He was distant to her. When they had time alone, he asked about their relationship. It seemed like he had continuous feelings for her and he expressed these on Mars at the archives. The decision was easy for Macha at the time. She couldn't hurt Garrus. She knew he was alive despite losing contact with one another. With him back into her life at Menae, her relationship with him grew even deeper. They had been through so much together; he was at her side the entire time. After all, he went to face hell with her when they squared up against Harbinger in London. He never hesitated to agree to come with her. She knew if she chose someone else, he would have insisted that he came along. Was her sudden draw to Kaidan justified? The attraction was still there. The way his eyes looked upon her. His soothing gentle voice brought tingles down her spine. She fought these longings yet years ago when he entered her life once more on the Normandy. Why now? What made the change? Was it some effect brought on by the chip? An anomaly? A neurological change in her brain? With her friends' help, she knew what year it was and knew things have changed. Drastically. No, this was not some wicked game by Erinyes. Dr. Archer confirmed Charon's hold was released when the chip was removed. No other backup systems in place. "Now is not the time, Kaidan," Her voice sharp. Anger seethed; directed upon him. Was she truly angry with him? Or herself?

"Mam," He stepped back to give her more space. Technically, they shared the same rank now as Spectre so they were equals. Military formalities were not needed. Still, the essence of them still resonated with him.

"I need to get these children off this station. This may be our only chance," Shepard matter-of-factly stated, moving swiftly to exit the room behind her turian counterpart.

"What the hell is going on? We moving my kids or not?" Jack walked into the room where Kahlee Sanders and Liara stood near the communications hub. Her outburst startled the pair.

"Garrus went to notify Shepard of the Alliance ship nearby. I don't want to patch through until Shepard gives the okay." Liara turned away from the console to speak to her. Just as she finished her words, she noted Garrus storming away from the direction of where he originally went. His avian eyes were transfixed upon the metal flooring with his fists clenched at both sides. He seemed upset. Dangerously upset. His appearance was very illusive.

Kahlee and Jack noted his demeanor. "About damn time. Garrus, what's the verdict?" Jack raised her voice to stop him. The turian lifted his head only slightly to look their way before he diverted his eyes back down and continued his route towards the opposite door. His slight angered the pony-tailed woman. "Hey. What the hell is your problem?" She moved to stop him, but the turian turned on her angrily.

"Back off, Jack," He hissed through his sharp teeth. Most people would avoid any confrontation with the ex-con given her strong biotic abilities. The fact that an ally was turning on her almost surprised her.

Jacqueline narrowed her eyes as she began to draw dark energy to her. "Hey, shit for brains, I'm on your side, remember?"

"Jack!" Kahlee snapped at her as she grabbed her right arm to stop whatever was about to transpire next. "There is no allowance for the use of biotic abilities in the facility except for instruction. You know the rules."

Liara rushed over to place herself between the two. "Garrus, go on." Her voice pained by his sudden change. Her deep ocean blue eyes moved over to Jack and Kahlee. "I'll get with Shepard." Seeing the hurt on the asari's face, Garrus untensed slightly before exiting the room to an unknown location.

Jack jerked her arm free from Kahlee's grasp. "What the hell is his problem?"

"I don't know…" Liara glanced towards the way their troubled friend went. "We do not need another fight on our hands."

As if on cue, Macha Shepard entered the room. Her facial expression was guarded and Liara found it hard to read to determine the origin of Garrus' anger. "Liara, there is an Alliance Dreadnought nearby?"

"Um, yes." Liara stumbled for her words as switched her focus from what just happened to the task at hand. She moved back to the console to bring up the terminal screen to display the comm buoy. "I can get a message through to them."

"Your call, Commander," Kahlee spoke up. "I lost many students last time when Cerberus attacked the facility."

"Cerberus was there to grab your students years ago for testing. From what has been disclosed to me about Charon, I believe they have no interest in them." Macha grimly explained, a lump forming in her throat about the honest truth.

"Over my dead body." Jack growled through gritted teeth.

"I will send the mass communication out to the parents about the evacuation so I can coordinate a pickup designation." Kahlee activated her omni tool.

"No." Macha reached out to hold her arm to stop her. "No communication to them. We go silent for now."

"What?" The dull blonde hair woman stared at her, dumbfounded. "The protocol mandates that we inform the parents or guardians if the students are to be moved away from the facility," Her words citing the code.

"We do that and Charon will be all over us and that ship." Jack seemed to read Shepard's mind.

"Liara, send transmission to the dreadnought. We need a pickup ASAP and tell them not to convey their change of route to command. Let's assume that Charon can hack Alliance communications as well."

"Got it," Liara' s fingers swiftly moved over the keyboard to send the message as directed.

"I'll gather the students and the staff to prepare them. I will mandate no communications to be sent until further notice." Kahlee chimed in. "Jack, come with me." The two left leaving Dr T'Soni standing there with her former commander.

The silence became awkward between the two. Macha felt like her legs were concrete. She knew she needed to find Garrus and talk to him, but her body wouldn't budge. She felt helpless. She wasn't the type of person to confide all her emotions to anyone. Kaidan walked in and noticed the two distant beings before him. "Did I miss something?" He kept his eyes fixed upon Liara, avoiding Macha's.

Liara noticed the unspoken words between the two humans in the room, then she thought back to Garrus' sudden change upon leaving Macha's makeshift room. Her mind dashed to what all that could have happened. At first, she thought the conversation was between Macha and Garrus. Now, it seemed Kaidan was another factor. Her keen mind automatically assessed that something must happened between the trio and the result was not favorable to Garrus. Macha quickly spoke up to break the disturbing silence. "Kaidan, help Kahlee and Jack evacuate the students. I will be down at the airlock. Liara, maintain communication with the Alliance. Send a message to Wrex for krogan aid against Charon. Once the students are safely evacuated, send transmission to the Salarian dalatrass, the turian Primarch and the asari councilor. We will need all the help we can get."

"Building alliances? That sounds remember," The blue asari teased gently.

"Roger that," Kaidan kept his attention shielded. He wondered where Garrus went. There was no mention of him. Their current mission was priority and the conflict among the team would have to wait. Was Charon currently on their way? Would the time window be sufficient? The request for aid may be too late.

"You have done quite well," Erinyes was in awe at the glass orb that she held between her thumb and index finger. The room's dim lighting seemed to make the glass surface glow. Gently maneuvering the orb around, the faint painted fake iris could be seen on what used to be Zaeed's eye replacement. The woman flashed a wicked smile to her counterpart standing in the room for the mission debrief. Avery untensed slightly from the "job well done" comment.

"That thing creeps me out," She tried to divert her eyes away from the prized possession. She had no idea why her employer wanted the trophy.

Her comment made Erinyes cackle. "Why? It's just glass." She set the orb down on her desk next to the stack of datapads that she was examining before Avery's arrival. "Harmless."

Embarrassed that she showed weakness, Avery crossed her arms to regain her confidence as she stood before her, awaiting the next mission. "Any word on Shepard?"

"No," Erinyes scowled. "Aria betrayed me. She betrayed the Illusive Man before. Perhaps she is cleverer than I give her credit for. A mistake. One that I plan on rectifying." She pressed against the plush back of her red leather chair and moved her eyes upon one of the datapads. A flicker of pleasure moved across her lips as her eyes lifted back up at Avery. Normally, she wouldn't bother on sharing knowledge with her lackies, but Avery proved herself so far. Young, Avery was categorized as xenophobic and pro-human fanatic. A must for any member of Charon. She was ambitious and willingly accepted challenges to help their cause. She genuinely believed in their chaos and rhetoric. Avery almost reminded Erinyes of herself in her teenage years, even though Avery was nineteen. She enlisted at seventeen after running away from her home on Eden Prime and taking a shuttle to their recruitment center. Somehow, Avery survived the raids on the colony by Cerberus during the Reaper War, but their assault never deterred her. Avery spoke opposingly against the colony's open-door policy to all races. A sleeper recruiter picked up on this. "Avery, what do you know of the Andromeda Initiative?"

Relaxing her stance, Avery shrugged. "Not much except what was on the extranet. I was twelve then. Something to do about launching ships to another system. A fresh start."

"Who funded the project?"

"Beats me. The Alliance? No one talked about it. It just existed."

Erinyes stood up from her chair with her wine glass still in her hand. "Jean Garson was the founder of the project. The face of its existence if you will. However, I funded it."

This admittance made Avery tilt her head in confusion and she uncrossed her arms. "You? I'm confused, mam. Why would Cerberus back an exploration and invite aliens?"

Erinyes tried not to let the accusatory tone in Avery's voice anger her. She had every right to be angry with her. Living in a co-existence with aliens was not on Charon's agenda, let alone Cerberus'. Setting the glass down, she stared across the table at her agent. "I never said that Cerberus backed the project." Truth. Cerberus never did. The Illusive Man turned the mission over to his daughter to run the show, but his guidance is what kept things running smoothly. That and his funding. "The idea of an imminent Reaper invasion was absurd to the leaders of humanity. A shove under the rug if you will. The one thing that Cerberus and Commander Shepard agreed upon. We couldn't let humanity die out like this. The Andromeda galaxy was out of the Reaper's sights or so we thought. We needed to send people out there to continue our populace. The aliens…they were a footnote. The project was too big to keep under wraps. It took lots of resources and time to construct and prepare everyone for the journey. Unfortunately, that's where the aliens came in. A weakness, but time was of the essence."

"Was it successful?"

Erinyes paused for a response and Avery grimaced. Did she press too much? Picking up the wine glass again to enjoy another sip of its dark contents, the leader of Charon sat back down at her desk. "The Andromeda galaxy is over six hundred light years away. Quantum entanglement messaging is a whole new ball game, Avery." Her reply was short and curt. "I have faith in my agents stationed on the Nexus and Hyperion."

"I thought a N7 was the human pathfinder." Avery searched her memory bank for details that she absorbed from all the different articles on the net.

Erinyes smiled again knowingly. "I have it all under control." One trait she inherited from her father was the way to manipulate human emotions for your goals. Though, the current situation with Macha Shepard was under fire. A grim reminder of what was transpiring in their current galaxy. "That will be all, Avery." She picked up the glass eye one more time in her fingers as she admired her prize while the woman in front of her left. Turning around to face her monitor, she initiated a call to Omega to Aria T'Loak. Several minutes passed until Aria's purple face appeared on the screen.

"Miss me already?" T'Loak got off the first shot.

"Skip the pleasantries, Aria," Erinyes cut her off. "I know you have Shepard."

"Do I?" Aria grinned. "Are you sure?"

Erinyes noted that the usual bodyguard that accompanied T'Loak was not in the video. She shelved this finding for now. "Cut the crap, Aria."

"Such hostility. Is this how you treat all your partners?" The asari played into this.

Her snide comments lashed at Erinyes relentlessly. Her face grew hot. The asari seem to know how to get under her skin and she found herself shaking with pure hatred and rage. "Shut up!" She could hear herself scream at the monitor. "My father was a fool playing into your schemes. He should have never trusted you."

The sheer admittance made Aria calmly lift an eye ridge. "Your father?" The asari stared at the monitor closely. "Just who the hell are you…." Her blue eyes narrowed.

Realizing that she fully disclosed her past without intention, Erinyes fumed as she paused to take a breath to compose herself. Aria gained another point against her. She was damned to let her beat her again. "Consider this a courtesy call, Aria. You lost Omega once, but Oleg's mistake is that he kept the station intact. I won't be as generous as he was." Severing the connection, Erinyes privately cheered herself on as she took a much larger sip from her glass wine. Her right-hand fingers moved over to the terminal to pull up the current status of her ships. Sixty-five percent were marked with active status after passing the final checks. The ETA for the remaining checks was eight hours. Another twenty-four to get to Omega after take-off. Too much time. Too much time to allow Aria to bolster her station's defenses. That's if she didn't consider Erinyes' call to be a threat. No matter. Erinyes pulled all her resources and her newly assembled fleet could slice through anything that the scumbags of Omega could throw at them. She was sure of it. Remembering what she uncovered during the call, she switched her terminal screen to the information she had on Aria, filtering the data down to known accomplices. A batarian by the name of Bray was listed as one of her top bodyguards and was noted to be around her majority of the time. Surprisingly, he was not present. Normally, she wouldn't care, but something in the back of her mind told her to check. Pressing a button on her desk, she connected her office to her intel team. "Get a message to one of our sleepers on Omega."

"_Go ahead, Erinyes, what is your message?"_ A female voice promptly answered on the other end.

"Aria's bodyguard, Bray, is missing. Find out where he went. Report back to me in two hours."

"_Acknowledged_."


	25. Chapter 25

MASS EFFECT WINTER EYES: CHAPTER 25

OLD WOUNDS

The blue glow radiating off the holo projection forms of Primarch Victus and Urdnot Wrex faintly lit up the darkened communications room. Every now and then, the image would become distorted from poor connection. The servers on Grissom were not as advanced as the Normandy or any Alliance equipment. Macha was surprised that she was able to get both patched in at the same time. It would make the talk path easier. Both holos remained still and silent as Macha entered the room. She would not expect anything more from two old warring races. Unsurprisingly, the new salarian dalatrass was not present. Even if time passed since her previous talks with them, some things didn't change.

A small hint of a smile spread across the krogan's reptilian face when he took note of her. "Good to see you, Shepard. Is this really you this time?" Skepticism mixed in with a casual tone in his voice. "Thought I was talking to the real thing before, _Raven_." He emphasized her name and the recall of her fake alias seemed to darken his approach.

Macha had no qualms about squaring up against her old friend. She did before years ago on Virmire. Clearly, she had no idea what the conversation was about last time, but that would have to hold off to another day. They had limited time to discuss the current state of crisis. "Dr. Archer saved my life, Wrex. I hate to say it, but I owe him. He assures me that I'm the 'real thing.'"

The turian gave her a quick nod of acknowledgment. "Commander, you are a welcome sight. I thought we were past the _dark_ times." The unspoken was pretty obvious and the air in the room seem to get colder.

Wrex turned his bulky head to eye him directly. "What in the hell is that supposed to mean?"

Macha held up her hand to stop the two. She knew briefly about what happened while she was under Charon's control. Another krogan rebellion was not on the agenda and she began to wonder if she would have a more difficult time rallying them together with so much tension in the air. She decided not to give her sympathy to Wrex for the loss of Eve and her brood. A grim reminder would only make the mixture worse like oil and water. "Gentlemen, if you please. We need to set this aside and focus on what is at stake."

"Charon?" Wrex casually tossed the subject matter aside. "Come on, Shepard. We faced Reapers before. Cerberus is weak. Quarians could handle them."

"Wrex, you know that's not true." Victus interjected quickly before Shepard had a chance to rebuttal. "Look at what happened on Tuchanka. My son died disarming a bomb that Cerberus was trying to detonate."

"Yeah, a bomb that you pyjaks planted there in the first place to wipe out my kind!" The krogan bellowed angrily. "If Cerberus didn't find it, would you just set it off yourself?!"

"Wrex!" Macha could hear her voice raise in anger. "Back down!" It irked her that this was coming to the surface once again. Any interaction between the council races seemed to be clouded about what happened to the krogan many years ago. When would they finally get past that?

"Fine." Wrex spat coldly with gritted teeth. "I'll back down… for now." Reluctant, he turned his head to look upon her once more.

Primarch Victus squared his shoulders more in a militaristic posture with his beady eyes homing in on her. "The motion will be set aside, Commander. I know that's not what you called us here for." Sincerity in his voice was clear. He had no animosity towards her and it seemed his temper only flared when Wrex lashed out. The krogan did have a way of rubbing people the wrong way.

"I am not sure that Charon is completely Cerberus, but they do fit the MO. We can only assume they are a splinter group with unlimited resources." Macha returned to Wrex's previous statement. "In what we have seen so far, they are deadlier than Cerberus."

"If they are to blame for what happened to Eve and my sons, then I want their blood on my hands," The krogan snarled.

"I understand, Wrex. Believe me. I won't stop you." Shepard assured him.

"What is your recommendation, Commander?" Victus asked. The keen military minds of the turians were always about strategy. Cold calculus. Ruthless. Black and white. No room for gray.

"Assemble your entire fleet."

The statement threw the ruler of the Turian Hierarchy off kilter. "You want to mobilize my _entire_ fleet when there's a war on the brink with the krogan." It seemed as if he was not afraid to cross that bridge again with his adversary on the same call. Macha grimaced.

Just like clockwork, Wrex rose to the bait. "Wouldn't want anything bad happened to the turians, now would we?" His voice challengingly.

Macha groaned and rubbed the space between her eyes with her fingertips to relieve pressure that was building up. "Not again…" She grumbled. Snapping her head back at them, her emerald green eyes seemed to change to red. "Enough!" Her shout made the room grow quiet. "How long is this going to continue?! You set aside your differences and worked together against the Reapers. Thousands lost their lives! Were their deaths in vain?!"

"Commander- "

"Save it, Primarch!" Macha cut him off icily.

"Shepard- "

"That goes for you too, Wrex!" Macha turned on him, pointing her right finger directly at the holo image of her old comrade in arms. "I expected more from you, Wrex. Are you no better than a mercenary again?! I helped you find your father's armor. Hell, I convinced Mordin to cure the genophage and turned salarian aid away to go through with that promise. Don't make me regret it." Her voice low to a threatening level.

The room fell still and the low hum of the machinery was the only sound for several seconds. Both holos were frozen in place as their avatars stared at Shepard incredulously at her outburst. Speechless. Macha felt the hot tears form in her eye ducts and she fought the natural urge to release them. Many of her friends were dead at the hands of Charon: Kirrahe, Chakwas and Zaeed. Charon could be on their way at any minute to dispose of the rest of the team and perhaps Kahlee and her students. The situation was dire and once again, she was pulled to play politics. There would be no bargaining this time. The other races had to work together on their own accord. The clock was ticking against her. How much time would they have? They could hold their own against a squad if they managed to board the station, but if Charon mustered a fleet with enough heavy bombardment, they could wipe out the entire school itself. The structure's kinetic barriers and backup shields were not enough to handle firepower at that magnitude. They would have to leave as well, and try to lure Charon away from any possible path to Kahlee.

"Shepard, I will mobilize my fleet as requested." The Primarch clasped his talons behind his back as he spoke. "_All_ of them. Send me the nav coordinates of a rendezvous point." He ended the call.

"The krogan will do the same. We will have your back. We'll bring the heavies. Just make sure if those bastards strike before we get there, that you leave some left for me," A glimmer of humor came from the krogan's mouth as he spoke. "Wrex out."

Hanging her head, Macha exhaled loudly to release the intense pressure that built inside of her. Her hands pressed down on the rail that was in front of the holo projectors. "When is this going to stop…"

A light tap at the entranceway to the room made Macha look to see Liara standing there. The asari frowned at her appearance. "You heard that?" Shepard called to her.

"I think the entire system heard it." Liara smile lightly as she walked in. "It's good to hear you speak up, Shepard."

Pushing herself away from the rail, Macha spun to face her friend. "Kahlee and the others make it?"

"We received a transmission a few minutes ago. They arrived safely aboard the dreadnought, SSV Paris."

Macha giggled at an inner joke by the response and smiled. "Ironic."

Liara tilted her head. "Oh?'

"Paris coming to save the old crew of the Normandy. Fitting."

The asari still appeared to be puzzled. "I don't see the connection."

"Human history, Liara." Macha patted her friend on the shoulder as she stepped to walk towards the room's door. "Normandy was place in France where the Allies in World War II beached against an assault on the Axis. Paris is the capital of France. Two French cities coming together. I don't know…" Macha felt silly now referring to ancient history facts. "Dad was a history buff. Not my forte, but I liked hearing his ramblings." Pausing at the door, Macha decided to switch gears to avoid further embarrassment. "Jack go with them?"

"Of course, she did. As much as she wanted to stay, she felt obligated to protect her students." Liara smiled warmly. "She has really matured since her recruitment off Purgatory."

"Good." Macha walked towards her next destination. Her eyes focused on the new task at hand.

"Where are you going?" T'Soni called out to her as she stopped at the door.

"I need to take care of something." Macha replied back without looking her way. "Tell everyone that we are leaving this place in an hour."


	26. Chapter 26

MASS EFFECT WINTER EYES: CHAPTER 26

Locating Garrus Vakarian was not a daunting task for Macha. Throughout the years knowing him before Charon messed with her brain, she recalled two things that pumped his blue blood: calibrations and weapons. Grissom Academy had very minor defenses compared to a regular Alliance base. They never anticipated a full-blown attack. The system consisted of a defense kinetic barrier and an armory inside the facility itself. Nothing changed following the first Cerberus attack. A critical weakness. There was no way Garrus could improve their defenses with the resources that they had onsite so the security station was not an option. The next best thing would be the training simulator. It was located adjacent to the Atrium and one of the bigger rooms at the school. Inside, students would be able to test their biotic abilities for training purposes only with the safety protocols in place. A few random holo projections to launch singularities at in purely self-defense. Nothing outside the scope of the guidelines set by the founders of the program. Though, the Alliance brass was pressing for further advances. Biotics were crucial when it came to new recruits and well trained ahead was ideal. As anticipated, the room was occupied and locked to prevent harm to another student. Only a staff member or in Shepard's case, a Spectre could override the seal. Placing her thumb in the scanner, Macha waited a few seconds until the satisfying chirps indicated the simulation in progress to be abruptly terminated, then the doors opened. The entire room was covered in sterile white tile including the floor and ceiling. Garrus was standing in the center with his sniper rifle at his hip. "Guess I was easy to find, huh?" He tossed casually her way.

Macha smugly crossed her arms with a grin. "Yep. What was your kill count?"

"Ten on the highest level. The fake rounds tempted me. Couldn't help myself."

"Just ten?" Shepard tossed at him challengingly. "You getting slow, Vakarian?"

The turian chuckled at her remark. "The simulation didn't start until two minutes before you arrived. You interrupted me."

Macha uncrossed her arms and stared at her old lover. It pained her to see him without having the option to embrace him. An invisible barrier was between them. She knew she hurt him and he had every right to be angry with her. Even more so than he was letting on. The critical situation that they were in took precedence over her true intent of their meeting. "Kahlee, Jack, the students and the remainder of the staff are safe and under Alliance protection. I have ordered everyone else to leave here within an hour. Staying to go up against Charon would not be best."

"I agree. We don't know what kind of firepower they will throw at us."

"Just sitting ducks, waiting to be hit," Macha added.

"What? Sitting ducks?" Garrus tilted his head to look at her for further explanation. "That's a human statement isn't it?"

"Turians don't have any?" She countered.

"We do, but more so to our military history. What failed commanders did."

"Try me."

Garrus took a breath as he stared across at her, collapsing his sniper rifle into carry-on mode. "Shepard, I know you didn't come here to indulge more on turian culture. I always told you to find something closer to home and you did. I figured that your past feelings never left after Horizon…."

"Garrus, things were different when he went against the Collectors. Kaidan and I fell apart. He didn't trust me and he had every right not to. I was with Cerberus and believed the lies that the Illusive Man put in front of me."

"He blinded you with old friends. You can't blame him. Though, I'm grateful for the assist on Omega."

"That was rough." Macha smiled gently at him in reminiscence. "Why did you piss off every merc group again?" She took a few steps closer and her footsteps echoed among walls in the hollow room.

"Trying to clean up Omega. I couldn't let the exploitation of the weak continue. Aria definitely didn't care." His stance stiffened by her approach. "Shepard, don't- "

Macha stopped in mid-step by his command and blinked. "Don't what?" Her voice innocent and genuine.

"I…you know it's difficult to even deal with this…" He shook his head as he began to pace. "I believed we were crazy to even try it. My feelings got me in trouble on Omega and I let them blind me during our mission against the Collectors."

Without saying a word, Macha reached out with her left hand and let her fingers gingerly touch the scar on his face. "Garrus…we have been through some crazy things. Fighting a Thresher Maw on Tuchanka on foot was probably the top."

"Not toe to toe with Harbinger?" Garrus cracked a thin smile.

Macha held her hand on his face as her emerald green eyes captured his blue ones. "I have missed you…"

Garrus nuzzled her hand as he felt her warm skin touching his cybernetic implant. Her caress was captivating and tranquility spread through his body. It seemed like old times. Reality crept over the horizon like a sunrise and he held her wrist with his right talons. His face hardened. "Don't…" His voice cracked as he removed her hand from his face.

His sudden change startled Macha. "Please, don't push me away…"

The turian hung his head in defeat and shook it slowly from side to side. "I know you still have feelings for Kaidan." He exhaled and lifted his head to look upon her again. "I need to step aside. There's too much at stake now to have some silly triangle between the three of us. Kaidan is my comrade and you are my Commander."

The words hurt Macha and she took a step back from him. "Is that all I am to you?" She hissed. "You tracked me down on Omega. You told me yourself. You knew where to find me. Don't lie to me and yourself, Garrus. I know you better than this."

A wailing klaxon blared through the room's speakers and the same could be heard outside the facility's halls, dampening their private conversation. Macha expanded her omni tool to reach out to Liara within the academy. "Liara! What's going on?"

"_There's a level one class transport heading to our location. Radio communications have been jammed!_" The asari's voice was frantic on the other end. "_Kaidan and Miranda went to make sure the landing pads are secured and bunkered down. Tali is working on getting the comms back online_."

"Is the defense shield in place?" Macha gave a sideways glance to Vakarian before moving purposefully towards the security station where their friend was.

"_Yes. However, the transport is armed. I don't know much the shields can take."_

"_Could be Charon_." Kaidan came through the conversation from his location. "_A transport of that class could hold twenty men_."

"Twenty to six. Not too bad of odds." Garrus commented as he took Macha's side. "We've had worse."

"True, but could be just the first ship." Macha countered. "Who knows how many are waiting for the order to come through the relay." Her mind became whirlwind as she thought through a virtual combat simulation. If in fact this was Charon, then mostly this was only a scouting party. They would give a positive ID to Shepard and her team before the remaining ships jumped through. Most likely, the identification would not take place until they boarded. It would take another thirty minutes for the others to jump through the relay and be at their coordinates. That meant, Shepard and her team needed to nullify the first team and get their ass off Grissom within five minutes. Heading to the relay was out of the question and their only option would be Elysium. Charon would have the same idea but the port was large and Alliance friendly. With a small amount of luck, they could land and have backup. Civilian casualties may be high though. Especially if Charon's reach already breached the port and a team was awaiting their arrival. They were going to be pinned. She had to risk it. They couldn't sit and fight their way through everyone on Grissom. "Everyone, meet me down at the landing pad. We clear out the first ship and get the hell out of here!"

"_Understood_." Tali was the first to speak up.

"_Loud and clear. Miranda and I will be standing by here_," Kaidan replied.

Macha increased her pace as she navigated the large unfamiliar halls with the help of her omni tool. It displayed the school's layout that Sanders downloaded for her. Moments later, Liara's voice came through her ear piece. "_Shepard, there's a problem_." Her voice calm.

"Liara! Why are you not down with the others?!" Macha knew that her friend was still at the security room.

"_I wanted to run more scans on the ship as it neared. That transport's origin is from Omega_."

This new evidence made Macha stop in mid-stride and she looked at her turian companion quizzically. He looked just as puzzled as she did. "Omega? Are you sure?" He asked for her.

"_Yes. No scrambler in place_." Liara stated matter-of-factly.

"That doesn't make any sense." Macha gritted her teeth as she continued her pace. "Why would Charon have a base on Omega? Aria would be all over that."

"Doubt that Aria knew about it," Garrus muttered.

"Agreed. I have learned that not everything is filtered back to her. Cerberus did have control of the station years ago. If Charon is connected, it makes perfect sense. The ship's departure could be made to throw us off." Her heart rate increased as she saw the landing pad in her sights where Alenko, Miranda and Tali were waiting for her.

"_I'm on my way! Someone is trying to hack into the facility's systems and take out the defense grid!"_ Liara radioed in. "_It's an advanced algorithm! Very high tech! I'm having Glyph change the access codes now._"

Macha looked upon the four that were with her. Each had their weapon drawn and their faces filled with duty and determination. "We can't count on that shield holding. Please plan on them boarding us."

"They will do a two by two formation." Alenko stated. "Won't pile out at one time. Would be too easy to pick off any other way. Guns blazing will be their MO. "

"Biotics could be in the back to launch attacks." Miranda brought up. "I can handle them."

"Shepard, the shields are down!" Liara raced in.

"Okay. Miranda, you take point with Liara. Kaidan, I want you to take the left flank and I'll take the right. Garrus, you find a good spot to snipe those bastards and Tali, you take the rear and use your combat drones for now." No one doubted her decision and each moved to their designated areas. Macha checked her rounds on her assault rifle and moved into position, glancing over to Alenko who gave her a worried look. He nodded his head at her attention and created a biotic barrier for an extra layer of protection beyond his armor's kinetic shields. Miranda did the same. A purple glowing orb floated past them to secure the front of the landing pad. Tali's combat drone.

"_Incoming docking vessel,"_ The facility's main computer spoke through the room's intercom speakers. "_Welcoming staff, please go to your station for arrival. ETA five minutes_."

Macha took a breath. Everything seemed to go in slow motion from that point on. Her mind ticking away the seconds. The longest five minutes in her life. When she got to the two-minute mark, she lifted her head only a little to take another stock of her team. All were in their places with their weapons drawn. "This is it!" She rallied them. "When they come through those doors, unleash hell!"

The transport's image came to view as it slowed down to dock with the magnetic holds. The area jolted a little from the connection. Seconds later, the docking tube set in place and then air could be heard from the seals as the ship's main door was being opened. The docking area pressurized to compensate and once clear, Macha's room's door opened to connect to the adjacent room. Shepard held her breath as she waited for Charon to come out into the charge with guns at the ready. However, her eyes seemed to deceive her. Instead, three krogan bounded through the doors, heavily armed. "Watch the charge!" Alenko warned his team.


	27. Chapter 27

MASS EFFECT WINTER EYES: CHAPTER 27

"ETA five minutes," The batarian pilot called to the crew inside the transport vessel as it continued its approach towards Grissom Academy. "The program worked! Shields are down."

"Those salarians are good for something," Fordok, the closest krogan to Bray snorted. His skin tone had an orange underlying tone to it with specs of blue in various places. He was still young in krogan years.

"Besides eating…" Balot, the other krogan to the right of him chuckled ominously under his breath. He donned a brown crest ridge and his skin tone was darker, which was a sign of age in their species. A nasty looking scar went straight across his face. It looked as if someone took a serrated blade to his face and slowly dragged the weapon across.

"Weapons check!" Bray barked, ignoring the crew's comment on Aria's espionage team back on Omega. The pirate queen came well prepared for the assault. "If Shepard's here, then we need to be ready." He checked over his ammo packs and double checked his current cartridge in the assault rifle. Any malfunction was an instant death sentence.

"We can take her, Bray and her team." Aizla, the asari in the back, commented confidently. Her skin pigmentation was the ordinary blue and she had white diamond marks on her forehead. Aizla was still fresh in her maiden stage. She gave him a playful wink and pursed her lips together at him as she lifted her sub-machine gun. Bray couldn't help, but to return the private smile to her. After all, they had a few sessions together and with a body like hers, he couldn't help himself. Most species found the asari very alluring, but Aizla had a stronger attraction to her. More than most asari to him.

"We are almost there! Can't wait to finally kill something." Casus, a pale face turian, eagerly spoke up, breaking up the private exchange. "Long rides were never good for me." Bray was leery about Casus. He was an ex-criminal on several murder charges. He escaped bounty hunters that sought him out from Palaven and managed to work his way up to land a job on Aria's team. For now, the bounty on his head quieted down, but if he ever fell out of Aria's graces, he would not survive long. She would make sure of it.  
The idea of being cooped up with a murderer did not set well with Bray, even if he could hold his own. Bad enough that he paired Casus up with a pair of krogan. Bad blood still resonated between the turian and krogan races. Bray had no one else to blame on the choices, except himself. After all, the team selection was entirely up to him. Casus was a maniac and to break through Shepard's forces, Bray needed someone like that. Krogan were the heavy hitters, but a crazy turian could be just as troublesome.

The objective was to take Shepard alive back to Omega and kill the rest. However, Aria would understand if they had to put the Spectre down. He fought alongside her when they retook Omega from Cerberus control. He had seen how ruthless she could be. Aria liked her. Macha took Aria's side through most of the mission despite Nyreen's arguments. Ironically, following the recapture of the station, Aria even kissed Macha before she departed with him. A surprise to all. Bray never would think that Aria had any attraction to the commander and she never was the one to just kiss anyone. Bray never got the privilege despite how secretly he wanted it.

The transported jolted as the magnets held the vessel tightly at its designated berth. The docking tube attached in place and air could be heard as the chamber depressurized. The tube was about one hundred feet before another door that entered the station itself. Bray couldn't see what was going on the other side, but he suspected an ambush as soon as they jumped out. "Fordok and Balot, you take the front. Kill anything that moves. Riliys, you take center with Vaneka." He motioned to the other asari on the team. "Casus, you're behind them. Aizla, you with me, in the rear." Bray was going to play it safe. Jumping out front was completely suicide. The krogans' thick hides and kinetic barriers could hold off a lot of the gun fire. He hoped that the asari in the middle would unleash biotic attacks to break off the brunt of the gunfire and disperse Shepard's team. Casus, most likely, would go berserk and take on anyone he saw first. There was no controlling him and his suicidal attitude could throw Shepard off. Bray would scout in the rear to find out where to find Shepard while Aizla could provide him cover. A perfect plan in his mind.

There would be some resistance and he counted on it. The tube's doors opened and the krogan charged ahead first with deafening roars that echoed among the chamber's walls. Seconds later, gunfire exchange erupted. "This is it," Bray huffed under his breath as he gripped his rifle tighter.

The charging krogan with blood rage in their eyes completely threw Macha off-guard. "Incoming!" Her mind wanted to try figure out why Charon would hire non-humans in their assault, but she forced herself to return to the dire task at hand. Squeezing the trigger on her assault rifle, she aimed at the orangish krogan on the left. Her marks hitting dead center, stripping down his barriers. This seemed to infuriate the krogan even more as the reptilian alien continued his threatening approach with murderous intent. The krogan opened fire making Macha take cover. Rounds pinging off the metal counter that separated her from certain death. Kaidan took her side, abandoning his previous position.

"Shepard! Keep your head down!" He found a break in the assault and lifted to fire his sub-machine gun at the charging krogan. The rounds found their mark as the barriers were completely depleted on the same krogan. The burly alien groaned as the ammo began to hit his flesh, tearing through his muscles, making him move to take cover himself.

"Kaidan!" Macha was surprised at him moving to her. "I can handle this!" Her voice elevated to be above the chaos that was ensuing about. She glanced over at Liara and Miranda who were launching singularity attacks.

"Sniped one!" Garrus cheered victoriously from the back. Macha allowed herself to risk exposure to capture the sight of a fallen asari on the ground in a fresh pool of blood. Two blows to the head seemed to be the cause of death. Silently counting their opponents, Macha determined the oncoming force was just six and all non-humans. Something about this didn't seem right. It didn't match Charon's beliefs at all. Was this another player? A familiar image caught her attention to the back of the ground team. A batarian. Macha directed her sight on him to figure out the familiarity, but a krogan's gunfire in her direction made Kaidan pull her back down quickly.

"Macha! What the hell are you doing?!" His voice filled with panic. His tight grip remained around her right upper arm.

He had every right to yell at her. She was putting herself and her team's lives at danger. She caught Liara's glance her way while the asari was hunkered down. Tali activated her assault drone with her omni tool and the glowing purple sphere moved ahead to take on the bloody krogan.

The attack was taking longer than planned and Macha still couldn't identify their attackers. She had to draw them in more. "Kaidan, move to the right flank and unleash a biotic attack."

"Understood." Alenko moved as asked, shifting his biotic focus on the badly wounded krogan. Using lift, he picked up the nearly seven hundred pound being and tossed it violently into the ceiling as if it only weighed ten pounds. A sickening groan came from the reptile's lips before its limp body fell back to the ground.

"Fordok!" The other krogan called out to his fallen comrade. His red eyes glared angrily at Kaidan. "You fucking human! I will pull your spine out!" Balot screamed in pure rage as he ignored all common sense and charged at Kaidan.

"Shit!" Alenko took aim and fired his sub-machine gun. The rounds pinging off the krogan's shields.

"Kaidan!" Liara homed in her fire as well, dropping the shields faster. The krogan ignored the threat of danger and continued its course.

"Get out of there!" Macha yelled at the dark-haired man as she fired her assault rifle, catching the krogan in the backside, ripping up the remainder of the barriers.

Miranda gathered dark energy and managed to use a slam attack at the last second, catching the krogan as he was two feet away and throwing him into the room's right wall. Garrus moved his rifle and squeezed the trigger, inserting rounds in the area that would contain the multiple krogan hearts. Blood splattered out from Balot's mouth before he collapsed to the ground as well.

Before the team could return their focus on the remaining opponents, there was the sound of gunfire and then Garrus groaned in pain. "Take that you, turian bastard!" An asari smirked near the docking tube with her gun still aimed at where Garrus was.

Macha looked in horror to see that Garrus was down on the ground, behind cover. She couldn't tell how severely wounded he was or if he in fact was still alive from her position. "Garrus!" She quickly moved her assault rifle with her scream and pulled the trigger. Her ammo rounds tore through the light shielding of the asari, turning her flesh into a pulpy mess. The force of the impact knocked the assailant back before she died from her obvious intense wounds.

"Aizla!" A familiar voice yelled out near the fallen asari's position.

Macha turned her head to look upon the batarian that came back into view. All four of his eyes wide with surprise and horror as he looked at the gruesome display in front of him. Seeing him clearly now made Macha recognize him instantly. It was Bray. One of Aria's top henchmen and the batarian she worked along side with when they overtook Omega. New questions popped in her mind. Why was Aria here? What was her plan? "Bray!" She yelled out to him. The batarian angrily jerked his head to glare at her. She caught his attention. "What the hell are you doing here?!" She demanded.

"Taking you to Aria!" Bray shot back coldly. "Dead or alive…." The latter sentence was in a low hiss.

"Shepard! Watch out!" Alenko called her to her.

Macha pivoted on her heel to see a pale faced turian charging right at her with his gun held like a club. "I'm going to bash your skull in, Spectre!"


	28. Chapter 28

MASS EFFECT WINTER EYES: CHAPTER 28

THE AGENTS

The mixture of sweat, bodily fluids and alien pheromones was overpowering to Avery as she stepped off the transport onto the designated dock for their arrival on Omega. Scrunching her nose, she pivoted on her heel to look behind her. Perez eyed the nearby travelers cautiously with his hand instinctively resting on the pistol that was strapped to his side. "I hate this place," Avery muttered to him as he took her side. The pair began their course towards their place of interest: Afterlife. Both donning Eclipse merc light body armor with temporary tattoos on different places of their neck and face. Avery dyed her hair to a light blue with streaks of pink at the tips. Perez had his dyed blonde and he took pigment capsules to alter the color of his skin from his light brown to more of a Caucasian white. The capsules were only good for eight hours so they had to move fast to ward off detection. He brought a couple of extra just in case. Their roles were fairly simple, but appearances were altered just in case they had to be scanned. Charon task operatives already placed fake identities for them in the system. For now, Perez was to be called Brian Edwards and Avery was Monique Spencer.

Perez whispered her way, "Just don't act like you feel out of place here. Play your part and we can get what we need." Avery nodded her head. Their sleeper agents could not obtain information on Bray's departure. Oddly, the information was kept very secret, even from Aria's men. All the agents could unearth was that Bray had not been seen for many days and there were so many transports that left Omega on a daily basis that it would be hard to narrow down the list without some type of lead. This mystery would not elude Erinyes. She began to wonder if Aria took Shepard off the station to a remote location and that's the reason why Bray was gone. A strong possibility. An assault on the station may not fruit any leads, but now things were personal. Erinyes held a grudge against the pirate queen since T'Loak's past dealings with the Illusive Man. Just like Shepard, Aria was blamed for the quick downfall of Erinyes' father and the desperation he was placed in. Attacking Omega was not out of the question no matter if Shepard was on the station or not. Aria's betrayal was salt to the wound and she could almost feel the asari's finger pressing deeper to provoke pain. Still, Omega was the first place to look to find her lost asset and wiping the station clean before obtaining this was ill advised.

Getting into Afterlife after standing in line for two hours was easy and paying the fee of five thousand credits each. The elcor working the crowd reminded them in a dry manner that the fee did not cover any expenses inside the club. Once inside, Perez separated from Avery. She went to the left towards one bar manned by a salarian while he diverted to her right where a group of fellow Eclipse mercs were. It was not uncommon for mercs to be showing up. Aria didn't seem to care who she entertained as long as they paid the chosen daily fee and didn't cause trouble. A burly krogan pressed up against the bar eyed Avery with interest and suspicion. Once he established, she wasn't a threat, he gave a slight wink to her. She held in her natural defense to come at him with a knife and threaten to kill him then and there. "Want a drink?" He asked.

Taking a breath inside her lungs, Avery feigned a smile at him. "What's good tonight?"

The krogan chuckled. "Something that you squishy humans can't handle."

Avery sized him up and smiled again before turning her attention to the awaiting orange hue salarian bartender. "Hard liquor…off-world."

"Torsk." The krogan gave his name. "Urdnot if you humans care about our clans."

Avery picked up on the clan name and by her knowledge, one of the strongest on Tuchanka and also led by Shepard's teammate, Wrex. "Thought the krogan were expanding to worlds," She pointed out as she picked up the glass the salarian slid her way containing the dark liquid that she ordered.

Torsk shrugged. "Most are. Too much competition now. The females want more of a say," He grunted. "It was fun and all making kids once again…have a lot now of my own." He gave another wink. "Been looking to expand my horizons."

Avery couldn't refrain herself from nearly choking on the liquor. She spat out the beverage onto the floor and wiped her mouth off with the back of her hand. She knew what he was hinting out and she couldn't tell if he was clearly in the right mind to suggest having sexual relations with a human. It wasn't taboo, but biology kept reproduction from happening. The image of her fornicating with the reptilian alien popped in her mind and she suppressed it further. Aggravated, she slammed down her glass and stormed off. Role playing or not, she wasn't going to go any further with the drunk krogan. She eyed Perez chatting it up with the mercs. "Hurry up...," She grumbled to him fairly loudly in her approach. She could tell by the slanted glance he gave her, that he wasn't too please of her actions.

"Another one?" The amphibious Eclipse salarian blinked his midnight black large eyes at her. He scoffed, "Ilium not cushy enough?"

"Got tired of red sand," Avery shrugged nonchalantly.

Perez took out a cigarette from his pocket and lit up. "Omega seems different."

"Aria still runs the show," A male compatriot grumbled from where he sat at the table. He didn't sound too thrilled by the notion.

Perez picked up on the cue and smiled inwardly. The conversation was going in the direction he predicted and hoped. "Her staff has changed since I was last here."

"Yeah? How long ago was that?" The salarian seemed to doubt his statement. "I was here during the whole Cerberus takeover. I don't recall seeing you out there with the rest of us." Avery froze as she listened in, hiding her surprised expression. She could see the gears grinding in Perez's head. He seemed calm and cool as the other spoke.

"That's because I left right after Archangel hit. Got out while I could. Why didn't you do the same?" Perez fired back quickly. "Things were spiraling already. Shepard hit the station soon after and look what happened."

The mercs remained silent as they mulled over the answer. The salarian nodded his head in acceptance. "Damn right. Aria should never have trusted her. It's bad for business."

"If you hate this place so much, Edwards. Why come back?" A female merc in the back spoke up. She seemed to listen quietly to the others as she processed it all.

"Hoped it would change." Avery answered for her counterpart, sounding confident in her own words.

This didn't faze the dark-haired woman. In fact, she seemed almost annoyed by Avery's chime in. "I didn't ask you." Her words sharp like rocks.

"Ease up, Veronica." The salarian rose up in their defense surprisingly. "We are low on men so if they want to come back. That's fine. The boss will be glad of it."

"Whatever happened to Bray? You know that batarian that followed Aria around like a lapdog." Perez slid in the question of the hour. "Last time I saw him, he gave me a black eye."

This aroused a chuckle from the salarian. "Sounds like him. I haven't seen him. No one knows. He went off-world I heard."

"Where to?" Perez dug deeper.

The salarian grimaced by the priding and narrowed his eyes at the pair in annoyance. "What does it matter to you? You got it out for him or something?"

Perez chuckled. "Thought I would return the favor to him. It's long overdue."

The same human male merc shrugged. "No one is talking about it. Figured a bad breakup. Aria kicked him out. Simple as that."

"I would have just shot him. Why the secrecy?" The dark-haired woman added with suspicion.

"Could have slept together." The male suggested.

"Gross."

"Hey, Monique and I are going to grab some drinks down in the lower bar. Check this place out again. You want anything?" Perez switched topics as he nodded with his head towards the door that would lead down to the lower part of the club. That was Monique's cue to start making her way. They had all the information they needed. Nothing. With the mercs declining the invitation, Perez quickened his steps to catch up to Avery. Once, they were deep within the crowd and out of sight, they deviated from their path to exit the club. "That was a waste of fucking time," Perez grumbled.

"You did good in there. Glad you did all the talking." Avery brought up with a slight smile.

"Practice working undercover. You will get used to it." Perez smirked at her. Avery could feel herself blush by his flirtatious smile. Her uniform started to feel much warmer than before.

"What do we now?" She felt her lips trembling.

"We lay low until Erinyes sends us the signal. Then we hit the security room. Our sleeps already sent me the schematics of the station to my omni. Taking down the defense canons will be our priority. The sleepers will be our diversion as we infiltrate. Still may be a fight. You up for it?"

Avery nodded her head as she patted her sidearm. "Oh yeah."

"Heard you took down Zaeed. Crazy bastard. But going up against krogan are much worse. I'll use my biotics so stay close and watch the charge."

Avery waited several minutes to continue the conversation until they were a good several blocks away from the club towards their hideout. "It's weird that no one at this place has any idea where Bray went. Something is not right, Brian." The different name was foreign to her and she struggled to remember to call him that while they were on Omega. Anyone could be listening in to their conversation. Spies were everywhere.

"I agree. Rumors could be true. Maybe Aria kicked him out." Perez kept his voice low as he glanced around at the citizens as they walked. "Bad breakup after all."

Sidestepping at the last second, Macha evaded the turian's advance and extended out her omni blade. Tilting the deadly end upwards, she used the turian's momentum to plunge his middle torso straight into the weapon. The blade pierced his armor and struck vital organs. The turian's eyes were wide in surprise as a loud groan escaped his lips. Blood trickled down from the corners of his mouth as he moved his head to look at Macha. Shepard kept her fist in place as she held onto his arm should he find the strength to recover and release a counterattack. Gritting her teeth, she twisted the blade, severing tissue and arteries, hearing a sickening rasp come from the turian's mouth. Feeling his body going limp, she released her hold and removed the blade quickly in one swift motion. The turian fell to the ground, holding onto his exposed torso as blood gushed out.

Wincing hard, Macha felt a sharp ping in her back as her kinetic barriers took a direct hit of gunfire. The impact nearly pushed her on the ground. "Damnit!" She cursed as she allowed the melee attack to cause herself become exposed. She leaped over a counter and looked towards the direction of gunfire, suspecting it was Bray. Instead, it was the remaining asari.

"I got you now, bitch!" The asari screamed as she unloaded her sub machine gun in Shepard's direction.

"Try this on for size." Liara launched a singularity attack that caught the asari off-guard. The dark energy lifted her helpless into the air as Kaidan picked her off with several rounds from his rifle.

"Fuck!" Bray growled from where he was hunkered down, holding onto his own rifle. His teammates were all killed and their bodies were displayed at several parts throughout the holding bay. He eyed his ship and debated if his shields would hold up to a huge assault from enemy fire before he was able to close the docking tube's door in time.

Macha panted as she stood up to face where he was, keeping the bead of her rifle on his location. "Bray, you are the only one left."

"No shit," The batarian grumbled. He could hear her team's weapons poised on his location as well. "I'm not going to be your damn prisoner, Shepard."

"Then we may just have to kill you." Kaidan spoke up as he kept his weapon trained.

Macha motioned for them all to lower their weapons. "Bray, I'm not your enemy. I'm not Aria's enemy. I want to know why Aria has it out for me."

"You pissed her off, Shepard. What did you expect?" Bray noticed their weapons lowered and he slowly rose up from where he was crouched down. His weapon still at the ready should their demeanor change. "Someone has it out for you."

"Did Charon contact you?" Liara asked.

"Maybe." Bray said. "A woman."

"Erinyes." Macha narrowed her eyes at the mention of the name. "You are being played, Bray."

"Aria knows that." The batarian swatted away the warning. "Aria is not going to give you to her. Like I said, you pissed her off."

Macha watched from the left corner as Tali helped Garrus up. Thankfully, he didn't need immediate attention and the round only impacted on the surface of his body armor. "Did Aria make a deal with her?"

"I'm not saying." Bray shook his head. "That's her business."

"Listen. Charon is dangerous, Bray. More than Cerberus. Aria already was a target of their attack. You think Erinyes would just give up on it?"

"Why does she have it out for you that bad, Commander? Or for Aria." Kaidan shook his head as he listened to the exchange. "It doesn't make sense. I know Charon is part of Cerberus, but there were other splinter groups following the war. Why this one? Why Aria? Aria has nothing to really do with you."

"I agree. I can't follow this with Shepard." Miranda walked over to take Macha's side as she watched Bray's moves.

"Am I free to leave?" The batarian held Macha's gaze.

"Just let him go, Shepard." Garrus finally spoke up from where he stood. "He's not worth getting involved with."

"You won't shoot me in the back?" Bray countered.

"That would be up to Shepard."

"You are not going back yet, Bray." Macha stepped towards him. "I have had one hell of a resurrection for the second time. Not only did Charon control me and now it seems that Aria wants me dead. I know Aria works all the angles and does what she believes is right in her best interest. Messing with me right now is not wise."

"Whatever deal she made with Charon needs to be off." Alenko popped back in.

"I agree." Tali added next to Garrus. "Tell Aria not to be stupid."

"It still pisses me off that Aria would attack a station that houses children…" Macha hissed lowly at Bray as her hand moved to her pistol.

"Aria doesn't care- "

Before Bray had a chance to finish his statement, Macha's clenched right first impacted his jaw, sending him reeling backwards and onto the floor a few feet from his previous location. With his face throbbing in pain, Bray glared angrily up at her and moved to grab his rifle from the floor. The weapon was quickly shot out of his hands by Garrus. Macha extended her omni blade again and held the pointy tip right at his neck, causing the batarian to hold both hands up while he gritted his sharp incisors. "Guess you are no better than Aria after all…" He winced as he felt the razor edge tip of the blade press up into his skin, breaking the flesh slightly.

"I guess she rubbed off on me when I was there." Macha kept her blade on his neck. "Bray, you and I fought along side together on Omega. You are one hell of a fighter. I saw it. Don't waste your talents for her. "

"Fuck off, human. I'm only loyal to Aria," He seethed.

Macha glared at him and pressed the blade more into his skin, hearing the satisfying hiss of pain come from the batarian's lips. He would not cower like others that she had threaten in the past. "Stay with Aria. I still want answers. You were on that call with Charon. What did Erinyes say? Any clue on who she is?"

"She wouldn't give us her real name. Any idiot would know that." Bray stated matter-of-factly. "I know who she is though."

His statement caught Macha off-guard and she felt herself untensing her muscles. "Who is it?" Liara broke the silence.

Bray felt the blade removing from his skin and he turned his head to face the asari. "You haven't figured it out….," He chuckled. "That's amusing."

"Quit playing games, Bray." Macha snapped at him to grab his attention.

"Aria sent me a message while I was on my way here. Seems though Erinyes feels betrayed by Aria and blames her for past betrayals to her father."

Shepard's eyes widened. "Her f-father?"

"Kee'lah…" Tali's voice whimpered across the room.

"That can't be…" Liara stated in disbelief. "There is no record of this…"

"Has to be." Macha returned her focus back to the batarian. "Bray is right. It makes perfect sense. Me…the assassinations…why else would Erinyes be so hellbent to take me down and anyone along with me who she thought did the Illusive Man wrong. His demise was his own. No one is to blame but himself…" Removing her blade finally from Bray, she stood back up, disgusted with the discovery with her fists clenched at her sides.

"What are you doing now? Hiding here?" Bray looked up at her.

"Preparing for a full assault on Charon. No other lives will be lost by Erinyes' order. The krogan are itching for battle as it is." Her gaze dropped to where he was and she offered her hand. Feeling the batarian taking it, she pulled him up to look at him directly in all four of his eyes. "Omega owes me, Bray. You and I both know that."

"Maybe." Bray grunted. "That would be up to Aria."

"Damnit, Bray. Speak up. No wonder Nyreen didn't seem to like you."

"Shepard," Liara walked to the center of the group with worry in her ocean deep blue eyes. "We all assumed that Charon would attack the station. Either they are slow in coordinating their efforts or…."

Macha's emerald green eyes widened in horror as she followed her friend's thought process. "They were not planning on attacking this station all along…"

"What do you mean?" Bray inquired.

"You said Aria was making a deal with Erinyes. You were sent here to get me." Macha explained. "My location was unknown and the only possible place to start would be Omega."

"Shit…you saying that Charon is going to attack there?"

"Makes perfect sense." Macha rushed to the communications room of the school once more with everyone following her. "Kaidan and Tali, reach all of our allies. Tell them to move to the Omega relay and wait for my signal."

Glyph hovered into the room. "Dr. T'Soni, urgent message that needs your attention."

"Go ahead, Glyph." Liara addressed her personal VI.

"I have lost contact with our agents on Omega. Communication lines are down. Should I try another request?"

"Goddess…." Liara gasped at the report. "It's already started."

"What agents?" Bray asked her in bewilderment.

"I'll explain later," Macha tugged at his arm to move him towards the terminal. "Help Kaidan and Tali. We need to gather our forces while we can."

Bray bit his lip as he looked on, then shook his head. "Screw this. I'm going to my ship."

"Where are you going?" Miranda called after him as the batarian took off down the hall to the dock.

"I'm going to Omega! Aria will need me there! I'm not on your side!" He shouted back as he broke into a sprint.

"Should I get him?" Liara asked Shepard.

Macha shook her head. "No, let him go. He's right. He's not on our side," Disappointment filled her words. "He never was."

"There could be a blockade waiting for him. That ship won't hold up against any type of fleet that Charon has," Kaidan argued. "We can't let him go."

Shepard remained still as she listened to her friends' protests. In hindsight, they were right. However, the decision was his. He was not part of the team and Aria was more important than anything else. It seemed as if the batarian would die getting back to her. Despite his attack on the station, Macha felt sad at his inevitable defeat should their fears be true. Resisting the natural tendency of her goodwill, she turned her attention back to the terminal in front of her. "Let's get the damn krogan."


	29. Chapter 29

MASS EFFECT WINTER EYES: CHAPTER 29

Still in his undercover attire, Perez casually leaned up against the wall a few meters outside the security room that housed the controls to Omega's defense systems. He pretended to be reading over a datapad and carrying on a private conversation with someone part of the Eclipse. No one in the vicinity paid him any attention or found his presence to be out of place. Avery was stationed just around the corner at a small volus diner, enjoying a light lunch. That's what she wanted to display to everyone else. In fact, she was on Perez's frequency, waiting for the order.

There were no guards stationed outside the room, but that didn't mean that inside would be unsecure. Most likely, the techs were protected by one to two of Aria's people. Perez and Avery staked out the place earlier that day to discover the staff inside were on tier shifts. One would leave for home, while another would take their place fifteen minutes later. All exchanges were timely and precise. The salarians were noted for their punctuality. A routine with a window far too perfect not to ignore the opportunity. The first switched an hour ago, but Perez didn't budge. He tried to peek inside to see what they were up against. The room was too dark and the manned workstations were deep within. He would have to go into this blind. Checking his holo watch, he noted the second shift would be switching in one minute. It was time. Tapping his ear com, he reached out to Avery. "You ready?"

"Positive."

"I'll hit the salarian coming out. Watch to make sure no one comes to his aid. Take them out if needed." Perez reached into his pocket and pulled out a long thin wire and held it between his fingers. As predetermined, a green pigmented female salarian exited the room and swiped her badge pass to close the door. Turning, she walked towards Perez's direction with the intent of heading home. That was not going to happen today. Staying calm, the Charon operative waited until she just passed before making his deadly move. Extending the wire between both hands, he looped it around to the front of her body, pressing it quickly against her slender neck, jerking her violently towards him. Alarmed, the salarian gagged and grasped at the vice, trying her best to ward off her attacker. Her voice rasped as she tried to speak, but the wire pressed tighter, cutting into her flesh. Perez jerked her body along with his towards the alley to his left to continue the assault away from prying eyes. So far, no one seemed to notice what was happening. Grunting, he gripped the wire tighter as he felt the salarian's body desperately trying to escape her fate. Seconds later, she went limp as the life force escaped her lungs and her deceased body dropped to the ground once the wire was removed. Her face had a bluish tint from the strangulation and intense bruising formed around the outside of her bloody throat. Placing the wire back in his pocket, Perez leaned down to relieve the dead worker of her badge.

Avery walked up to where he was and used her body to block any view into their location. She watched Perez loot the body while he was down there. A few cred chits, but nothing of any real value. The badge was the primary focus. "That went well."

"Salarians were never known for their brute strength." Perez stashed the body behind a few trash receptacle containers. "Easy enough."

Holding onto the badge, he walked up to the door and quickly scanned the precured item. A chime indicated that the access was granted and the door opened. Holding his pistol at the ready, Perez walked in first and noted only one turian guard stationed to the right at their location. Catching the turian off-guard, Perez gathered dark energy and used a throw maneuver to slam his victim into the wall nearby with a sickening crack.

Alarmed, the rest of the staff poked their heads up from their workstations to see the intruders. Avery lifted her pistol and took aim. Methodically moving from desk to desk, each round striking a worker squarely in the chest. Perez finished off the remaining ones that were too frozen by fear to move. Closing the door quickly behind them, Perez moved deeper inside the bloody room and made sure that no one else was lurking nearby. "It's clean."

Avery hurried over to a nearby terminal, shoving the dead worker onto the floor. Placing herself down in his chair, her fingers dashed over the keyboard to bring up the program's controls. "I have access to all the canons."

Perez pulled up his omni tool to use a nearby comm buoy's QEC to send a message to the awaiting fleet that was already through the relay in the system, but too far to be detected yet. Advancement in technology made the technique of sending messages off world quicker and more efficient. The Charon fleet was already patched into the buoy to await the signal. Smiling, Perez tapped Avery on the shoulder. "We have ten minutes. Let's move." Moving into his pocket, he took out an electronical locking device to prevent entry to the room. The code was very complex and experienced hackers could eventually crack it, but it would take time. Minutes that would enable Perez and Avery to swiftly leave the station and prevent Aria to know what was truly going on until it was too late. Leaving the device to the control panel in their wake, the pair swiftly made their way to the docks. All the while, checking their holo watches for the countdown. Perez flashed a grin over to Avery who was running along beside him. "Now this is going to be fun."

Fifteen minutes later, Moklan, a batarian bodyguard for the ruler of Omega, approached his boss on her platform. "Something is going on at the command station."

This perplexed Aria and she sat up straighter on her plushy couch. "What do you mean?"

"The door to the room was locked and prevented the worker from getting in. She said there was a strange device on the panel and right now, I have a team working on gaining access."

"Did you bother to contact the workers inside?" The asari shot. Her question dumbfounded the batarian and his facial expression made her seem to think he didn't bother to check this before coming to her.

"I didn't. The worker did. She couldn't get through. Could be a block on the device."

Standing up, Aria dismissed the dancer that was at her private booth and followed Moklan down to her personal exit from the club. She needed to handle this matter discreetly. Tapping her comm, she reached out to all her workers on the same frequency. "This is Aria T'Loak. I want access to the command station upon my arrival. No excuses."

Their small craft couldn't hold up against the Omega vessel in front of them that Bray was piloting. When Shepard and her team departed Grissom Academy, they were about twenty minutes behind and he was gaining distance as he approached the system's relay. Macha remained at the cockpit's open doorway as she watched Miranda man the controls. "Damnit…can't this thing move any faster?"

"This isn't the Normandy!" Lawson shot back in frustration.

"We won't lose him, Shepard. We know where he's going." Liara assured her friend from where she sat next to Miranda.

"I don't like what may be waiting for him or us on the other side…" Kaidan grumbled as he stood behind Macha.

"The fleet will be behind us." Garrus spoke up. "Shepard, we should wait until they catch up. We will have more of a chance to get through their defenses with more firepower. High Command is sending their best ships to aid us."

Gritting her teeth, Macha looked back over at Liara. "Reach out to Bray again."

Liara nodded her head and opened a channel. "Bray, we need you to wait. Charon may be waiting for you on the other end." Silence was his response.

"Damnit!" Macha yelled out as she moved over and slammed her fist back down on the radio controls. "Bray! Throwing your life away for Aria is completely irrational. You won't stand a chance." Still no reply. "Fuck! What's wrong with him?!" She growled in anger as she moved back to her spot.

"Commander, the relay is coming online. He has it set." Miranda announced.

"Follow him through." Macha moved away to take her seat to get strapped in. Kaidan and Garrus followed suit. She actually didn't owe Bray the help she was giving him nor the warning. After all, he tried to kill her and her team. Aria was not a friend and certainly not an ally she could trust. Charon was their big concern. Still, she was tired of the lives lost. A soft spot for her and one that the Illusive Man exploited during the Collector raids on colonies.

A few minutes later, Miranda's voice broke the silence, "Hitting the relay in thirty minutes. He already went through."

The command station on Omega was a sickening blood bath. Corpses of the dead workers were still on the ground with pools of blood all around. Their eyes open with fear frozen on their faces. Each was killed by bullets in their chest. "Defense canons are offline, but in another twenty minutes, we should have them up and running again." A salarian greeted her and Moklan at the door.

Aria lifted her eye ridge at the deceased turian guard right of where they were standing. His body contorted in an unnatural position with lumbar deformity. His spine was severed. No bullets confirmed a biotic attack or one pissed off krogan. Most likely, his cause of death was the former and not the latter. "All the workers accounted for?"

"Yes…well, we found one…outside in an alley." The salarian answered.

"Outside?" Moklan asked. "Inside job?"

"Hard to say…her badge was missing and it appears she was strangled."

"Witnesses to the intruders?" Aria pressed again as she stepped around the dead bodies to inspect the weapons' systems.

The male salarian followed her. "None to the actual attack. A few vendors stated they saw two Eclipse mercs in the vicinity right before, but they are now gone."

"Eclipse?" The name of a well known merc group on the station peaked Aria's interest.

"Power move?" Moklan looked over at his boss.

The asari remained quiet. It didn't make any sense to her why the weapons' systems were of any use to them, especially the defense canons. The Eclipse had a foothold on the station and it wasn't their MO to bring a fleet. "Maybe," She held this piece of information to herself.

An alarm chimed at a nearby workstation, catching their attention. The salarian rushed to check it out. "Oh no…no no…that can't be good!" His slender fingers manned the controls.

"What is it?" Aria called to him from where she stood observing his actions.

"Multiple large ships have entered the outside perimeter scans. They must have come through the relay." His voice was filled in a panic.

"What ships?" T'Loak pushed him to the side to see the screen herself. A faint surprised look fell on her face. "Bastards!"

"What is it, Aria?" Moklan moved so he could try to see what was going on.

"Heavy ships are coming in. Charon…" She snapped her head to the salarian. "I want those canons online right now!" Erinyes was not bluffing after all.

"Y-Yes, mam…" The salarian stuttered as he moved to where his coworker was busy working away and took his place.

"Damnit…where the hell is Bray…" Aria stormed out of the room to move back to Afterlife with the batarian in tow. "Moklan, get the troops ready. We need to prepare for a ground assault. I want Afterlife fully defended and shut off the lower sections to bring power to all the shields."

The order baffled him. "If we shut off the lower sections, then life support will be gone as well."

"Yes, I know." She didn't bother looking at him to address his concern. "Just do it."

"Fuck!" Bray yelled as the ship violently rocked for a third time after a blast struck the starboard side. Alarms and klaxons wailed within the hold as smoke began to fill the cabin. Shields were down to twenty percent and holding by a thread. He directed the ship away from the two dreadnoughts that seemed to block his direct route from the relay to Omega. The small viewport allowed him to see the red hue that generated from the station and the fire it was taking from blunt hits. Explosions rocked the bottom as Charon seemed to be directing their full power on Omega's eezo stations. Punching the throttle, he maneuvered the ship to the far left of the first dreadnought and shot around the front. "Damnit. I'm getting down there." He grinded his teeth and ignored the beeps from inbound fighters who were locking on to finish him off.

Suddenly the battered station came to life as the canons fired up at the threatening dreadnoughts, striking one directly in the center. The defense canons continued to fire upwards hitting their opponent relentlessly till finally Charon broke the attack to begin evasive maneuvers. Watching on, Bray cheered. "Take that! Don't fuck with Aria!" His celebration was cut short as a fighter's guns nailed Bray's ship in the rear sending him spiraling off course. The ship's mass effect fields worked the natural forces of space. Bray never understood the science behind space travel and just used it. Alarms seem to wail louder within the cockpit. The shields were completely depleted. One more hit and he was done for. Getting to Omega was out of the question and he would be damned to leave the station. Accepting his fate, Bray turned the ship towards his foes, ignoring the warnings of a head on collision. Seconds later, before the imminent peril could befall him, a large blast took out the opposing fighters and left his path clear. Confused, he checked the scanner to see more vessels entering the perimeter. The closest one was a krogan frigate class ship followed by three krogan dreadnoughts, two turian carriers, and three asari dreadnoughts.

"_Come to save the galaxy again_," A krogan's laughter came through the radio.

"What the hell is going on?" Bray asked out loud, confused by the welcoming aid. Charon seemed to have met its match.

"_Krogan flexing_," The krogan chuckled. "_Urdnot Wrex here to save the day_."

"You cleared me in. Thanks," Bray returned his focus to the docks. It would be a bumpy ride, but with Charon distracted, he had a higher survival rate.

Ten minutes later, Macha's ship entered the system and moved towards the station. It felt like she walked right into some kind of b class vid movie. Ships were firing at one another while half of Omega's canons were still operational. The station had taken massive hits and it was amazing how it still held its distinctive shape. "This is Shepard. How's the fight?" Surprisingly, the fleets arrived before they did.

"_About time you showed up_." Wrex answered first. "_We are outdoing the turians, but that should be expected_."

"_You just count wrong_," A turian admiral piped in.

Macha eyed the Charon ships. The dreadnoughts were still standing and were fully engaged with the other vessels. "Erinyes has to be on one of those."

"Storm it?" Alenko suggested.

"Too risky for the approach." Shepard chewed her lip as she continued to assess all her options. She wasn't about to let Erinyes get away.

"Draw her out and then I have the turian ships unleash hell on her," Garrus rose from his seat.

"And let them have all the fun?" Tali teased.

"If Erinyes wants me…and Aria. Then she will get it." Macha moved towards the cockpit once more, holding onto the walls for support should the ship get hit with an unsuspecting attack. "Miranda, open a link out. Let's see if the bitch will talk to me."

"Feisty," Miranda giggled as she complied.

Ignoring the comment, Macha waited a few seconds before speaking up. "Erinyes, I know you can hear me. I'm out of your reach now. You will no longer control me. I'm heading to Omega. Why don't you face me down there? Shepard out." Without giving the command, Lawson programmed the ship's route to Omega's docks.

"Let's just hope there's a dock left," She muttered.

"I'm going with you," Garrus stated matter-of-factly.

"Me too," Alenko took to her side. His jaw squared from the intensity of the situation.

"I can handle this," Macha shook her head as she checked her weapons.

"You went to Omega alone once to fight Cerberus. We won't allow it to happen again." Garrus argued as he rested his talons on her arms to stop her.

"Garrus is right."

"I had Aria last time." Macha countered.

"Aria won't help this time, Shepard. She has her own troubles." Alenko pressed. "You really think she's an ally?"

"Take someone, Shepard." Tali protested through her helmet. "I'll give you my drone if you need it."

"Fine. Garrus and Kaidan, you are both with me." She glanced at each of them. "Just watch your asses." Both gave a grim smile. A smile crested Macha's lips as she leaned in and gave each a kiss on the cheek. "Thank you."

"_Shepard!_" Erinyes' voice cracked through the comm, interrupting the tender moment. "_Just like you to hide_."

"I'm not hiding!" Macha snapped. "I'm not a coward like you. I don't try to control my enemies."

This aroused a sinister laughter on the other end. _"The way it should have been during Lazarus. Too bad Miranda's recommendation wasn't granted_."

"Your father let himself be controlled by the Reapers. He got too close to the enemy. His fate was all on him." There was silence on the other end. "Yes, Erinyes. I know. I know that you are the daughter of the Illusive Man. You have the same wires crossed as he did. You are becoming obsessed."

"_I will kill you myself!"_ Erinyes screamed through the other end.

"She severed the connection," Miranda looked back at Macha. "We are heading in. This will get bumpy so strap in."

"You really pissed her off, Commander." Garrus chuckled as she took the seat next to him.

"I think I have a way of doing that," Shepard grinned as she harnessed herself in.

Omega's streets that once led to the prominent markets and apartments were littered with dead bodies. The corpses riddled with bullet wounds. No species was left untouched. Ground troops hit the station in correlation with the space assault. The citizens were left stranded outside the club as Afterlife was placed in lock-down. A few of Aria's men were dead on the steps of the club, but there was no sign of Charon's soldiers. The freshly killed bodies led a blood trail deeper down into the station away from Afterlife. Macha felt sick as bile formed in her throat at the gruesome sight. Her stomach sunk like a rock when she realized this was not strategy. It was pure murder. Charon was going from level to level, taking out each citizen while Aria's men hunkered in their strongholds to recoup. Totally opposite than the previous assault by Oleg Petrovsky and Cerberus.

"My God…." Kaidan's words failed him as he paused in midstep to take stock of what they truly were up against.

"Charon doesn't care about humanity…this is pure revenge." Garrus knelt down beside two deceased human children at their dead mother's side. Most likely, the trio were running to their apartment to seek shelter and were gunned down in the back.

Macha joined his side and gently closed the young boy's eyes, allowing her fingertips to rest on his forehead for several seconds before she lifted them up. "The order came from Erinyes. She has to be stopped."

"It will take hours to flush out the entire station to save civilian casualty." Kaidan noted.

"Erinyes will be here any minute. We can't risk leading her down to the untouched areas yet." Garrus' mandible twitched as he logically thought about their options.

Standing up, Macha nodded her head to her turian comrade. "You're right, Garrus."

"We make the stand here?" Kaidan checked his round capacity.

"No. Kaidan, you and Garrus, follow the attack and save what lives you can. I'll deal with Erinyes."

"Commander, that's crazy!" Garrus' voice rose in fear as he heard her order.

"It's the only way, Garrus." Macha held his gaze.

"She's over there!" A trooper shouted to their location. Several of Charon's forces arrived from the direction of the docks with more in pursuit.

"Shit! Move!" Shepard dashed to take shelter behind a metal divider that was used to divert the line that would form to gain entrance to Afterlife. Luckily, it was thick enough to withstand the assail of gunfire. Kaidan and Garrus darted towards the lower apartments to rescue who was lucky enough to be still alive.

Lifting up, Macha squeezed the trigger and used cryo rounds to strike the soldiers in the front. They grunted as the impact formed ice over their amor and limbs, turning them into motionless statutes. The return of gunfire hit Shepard's shields before she had a chance to take cover. "Damnit!" She was pinned and the only escape was the closed club behind her.

Strangely the cacophony of fire was abruptly stopped. Erinyes voice called to her from where the soldiers stood. "Give up, Shepard and face your death."

Macha peeked over her refuge to see the soldiers standing at the ready with their weapons poised along with Erinyes and a young male beside her. Both wearing medium grade Kassa armor. A victorious smirk slithered over Erinyes' lips. "You will pay for what you have done, Erinyes! You are crazy!"

"Doesn't look it from here, Shepard!" The male taunted her. "You're the one hiding! Are you a coward?"

Clenching her assault rifle tighter, Macha growled in frustration. Her heart wanted her to rise to the bait and stand up to unleash her anger to them while her head cautioned her from doing so. She was extremely outnumbered and her shields were down to half capacity. "You are just like your father, Erinyes! Letting your minions do your dirty work. I bet you would tap into Reaper tech if it was still able just like him to."

"Why should I? I have won, Shepard. You are as good as dead." The woman replied calmly. "I will cease your parasitic existence, then I will take out the remainder of your crew. I will annihilate this station and burn Aria T'Loak alive in the destruction."

"Omega is mine, bitch!" Aria yelled from where she stood at the entrance of the club with a small army of her own. Her body engulfed in a purple aurora as dark energy drew to her. She unleashed a shockwave that sent several of Charon's men flying over the rails and into the chasm below. The krogan near her roared as they began the charge down the steps, firing their assault rifles in rapid succession with each step. Behind them were batarians and a couple of asari and turians. Shepard noticed that Bray took Aria's side with a nod of acceptance towards Macha's way before moving out with the rest of the men.

With the tables turned, Macha rose up and began to fire also at Charon, aiming directly at Erinyes. The rounds struck the woman's chest plate and barriers as she was caught off guard. The man of the group leaped at the krogan firing at them. He managed to bring one down, but blood rage consumed the other two and they were on him within seconds. They growled loudly as they head-butted him, knocking him hard to the ground with his gun sliding several feet away. Dazed from the concussive blow, Perez struggled to stand up and just as he did, the krogan were at him again. The first krogan twisted the man's arm in an unnatural angle, snapping the bones causing him to yell from the horrific pain. His wails were silenced as his neck was twisted, severing his spinal cord and then his lifeless body was thrown into the chasm.

"No!" Erinyes screamed as she shot at one krogan, tearing apart his armor, hitting vital organs till the burly alien groaned softly and collapsed dead. Even the species' organ redundancy couldn't withstand the strike.

Bray moved in to take her on, hoping to seize the opportunity. Erinyes spotted him and turned her rifle quickly upon him and squeezed the trigger. He was caught in the side and was thrown onto his back. Spitting in his direction, Erinyes narrowed her eyes as she approached with her weapon moving towards where he slid to finish him off. "Back off!" Aria screamed as she fired at Erinyes, causing her to dodge away from her intended target. Erinyes returned fire, but her counter was blocked by a biotic sustained barrier.

"_Shepard, the fleets have taken out many of Charon's ships. You doing okay_?" Tali's voice cracked with interference into Shepard's ear.

"Yeah, about to end this here," Macha replied under her breath as she looked at Erinyes. All she could see was the pure hatred and the lives lost. "Erinyes!" Macha fired to keep the woman pinned until she on her, then tossed her gun to the side, clenching her fist and nailing the woman straight in the face. Erinyes stumbled backwards, but threw aside her weapon as well. She grabbed Macha's arm to block another punch, and delivered her own uppercut, causing Shepard to bite her tongue. Blood filled her mouth. Spitting it out, Macha growled and moved to strike again, but her punch was blocked yet again and was met by a swift roundhouse kick. Before experiencing the pain from the blow, Macha felt her body spin until it impacted with the metal floor sharply. She cried out as the side of her body landed.

"I was trained by Kai Leng himself, Shepard." Erinyes looked on smugly. "You can't win in hand to hand combat."

Staggering, Macha stood back up to face her opponent. Yelling out, she struck at the woman, but was met yet again with the side of Erinyes' foot in the same exact spot. This time, her body tumbled onto the ground. "Shepard, quit pissin' around and let me just fucking shoot her." Aria watched on in frustration as she kept her gun held up. With Shepard being so close, it was hard for the asari to get a good lock-on. "I'll fucking shoot you too if I have to."

Shaking her head to regain her composure, a quick blur of blue armor caught her view behind them. Realizing that Erinyes didn't see this, Macha stood back up as she spat the blood out again from her mouth as she clenched her fists in a guard position. "There's one thing you forgot about Kai Leng."

"What's that?" Erinyes spat.

"I killed him."

Just as she spoke the words, there was the sound of gunfire and Erinyes' body lurched forward with her eyes wide as they could go in pure shock. She rasped as she stumbled to try to look back at what hit her from behind. Her mouth still gaped open. Her feet pivoted slowly as the blood drained from her face. As she turned to face her attacker, Macha noted the large wound in her back that penetrated he body armor. It was high enough to hit her heart from the back. Concussive blast with armor piercing rounds. Her shields and armor didn't stand a chance. The turn revealed Garrus Vakarian standing there with his rifle still at the ready should he need to fire again. "Scratch one," The turian confidently stated as he watched her.

Erinyes stumbled towards the turian to one final attack, but her body was thrown by a biotic toss from Aria T'Loak. The dark energy lifted Erinyes over the rail and into the abyss below to join her comrades. Her screams disappearing into the void. "I told you that she was mine." The asari flatly said to the commander.

"Garrus…" Macha looked at him as her body throbbed in pain. The turian rushed and pulled her to him, kissing her deeply.

"Gross…" Bray grumbled from where he was, still applying pressure to his wound.

"Bray, you are stupid." Aria moved to where he was to see how bad the damage was. "What the hell were you thinking?"

"That I could kick her ass." The batarian muttered.

"I swear, Bray…"

Macha smiled at Garrus after they broke apart. "I thought you were down there with Kaidan."

"Only a handful left," Kaidan answered for them as he walked back from the direction they went. "The rest of the citizens are safe."

"Miranda, what's your status up there?" Macha reached out to her friends in the ship.

"_Only two Charon's ships left and they jumped the relay before we had a chance to take them down. Don't worry. We are sending the krogan after them_."

Shepard chuckled. "I'm sure Wrex will know what to do."

"Shepard, I- "Aria began as she approached her.

Macha held up her hand to stop her. "Yes, I'm saving your ass again. Twice now, huh?" She crossed her arms with a grin.

Aria rolled her eyes. "Hardly. Just…just be done with this soon. You bring bad luck to my station." She turned and motioned for the remaining batarians to usher Bray inside the club with her.

"Is that a thank you?" Kaidan watched on with curiosity.

"Doubt it." Macha moved to head back to the docks to await pick up. "I need a shower."

THE END


End file.
